Teaching of each student is a unique experience . Grasping power differs , interest differs , sleeping latency ( how fast falls asleep in class ) varies . Teaching radiology residents is interesting enough as is teaching biomedical engineers . But recently i had an opportunity to "teach " a mechanical engineer about principles of core radiology . I have done medical physics aspects training many times even to non biomedical engineers occasionally but explaining in fine detail core radiology was rare .
Her relative had a road traffic accident and i had gone to explain the report to her . But what initially had started as brief interpretation was followed by an intense discussion of the core topics of radiology . Her curiosity ( she was in her 50s ) to understand how a radiologist arrives at a diagnosis from two sheets of film made me see the film from her perspective , Many of the things we take for granted she was asking explanations be it the midline shift caused by brain swelling or the fracture which may or may not have a bleed underneath , why sections are taken , why right is right and left is left :) ( thats an exaggeration )
Coming to think of it i was amazed at the curiosity levels she had . To be honest anyone can earn a good salary and spend an entire lifetime without much curiosity even in his own subject . But curiosity has lots of benefits . If its the same field curiosity will translate into faster and more efficient work . What takes hours may get completed in a shorter while if the basic principles are understood . That understanding only comes from curiosity . Also curiosity helps in increasing the quality of work .
Coming to outside the field curiosity (like exemplified by the mechanical engineer ) it always is mentally stimulating and makes life more interesting . But more importantly a curiosity level knowledge of many fields help in better communication with specialists as well as preventing people from taking you for a ride to some extent .
I always assess the curiosity levels of students . Actually for a teacher its easy and essential for customised teaching . And be it when teaching or even in day to day interactions its a pleasure to interact with a person who is curious about subjects in depth .And luckily im blessed with knowing at least a few who is deeply interested in a lot of topics .
Who told curiosity killed the cat ? Anyway time for me to google it .. Curiosity is the beginning of any new learning . Thanks for reading and comments welcome .
