why some great people are childlike?

[immortal]

Is being childlike a necessary characteristic of great creative and innovative people with great insights? Like Einstein or Leonardo Da Vinci.

 

Michael Gelb - How to think like Da Vinci. I haven't read that book just saw the cover page some years back in a book store which mentioned about the childlike qualities of Da Vinci.

 

 

Edited June 7, 2012 by immortal

[dimreepr]

Is being childlike a necessary characteristic of great creative and innovative people with great insights? Like Einstein or Leonardo Da Vinci.

 

Michael Gelb - How to think like Da Vinci. I haven't read that book just saw the cover page some years back in a book store which mentioned about the childlike qualities of Da Vinci.

 

 

 

I think you need to define the term “childlike”. Is it that, a capability to have fun, is childlike, or is it just something adults share with children? Isn’t it just a case of them being human?

 

 

[iNow]

Agreed. Childlike is way too imprecise a term for this. Perhaps something closer to "open to new information" or "not regimented into previous modes of thought" or "comfortable with change," that sort of thing.

[immortal]

In this context being childlike is to ask questions. If you had spent time with kids like I have a cousin who goes to Euro Kids and one day he asked me which bird flies fast? Eagle or Vulture? I had never asked such a question to myself and if you give him a book of animals he points his fingers and asks what is this? .. and this? .. and this? it goes on and on.

 

So the point is do great people become great because they ask the right questions at the right time? If one doesn't ask the right questions to oneself how can you get an insight? Is it this trait which makes them great? I posted that image of Einstein riding a bicycle as an indication that they had kept such a trait even when they were adults.

[dimreepr]

In this context being childlike is to ask questions. If you had spent time with kids like I have a cousin who goes to Euro Kids and one day he asked me which bird flies fast? Eagle or Vulture? I had never asked such a question to myself and if you give him a book of animals he points his fingers and asks what is this? .. and this? .. and this? it goes on and on.

 

So the point is do great people become great because they ask the right questions at the right time? If one doesn't ask the right questions to oneself how can you get an insight? Is it this trait which makes them great? I posted that image of Einstein riding a bicycle as an indication that they had kept such a trait even when they were adults.

 

 

I'm certainly no genius, but I'm constantly asking myself questions, most of which are of such nonsense as http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/61840-elbowcaps/page__p__641777__fromsearch__1#entry641777 so for me it would be a pre-requisite for such great people, just a higher quality of question.

 

Edit/ Not necessarily a childlike quality though.

 

 

Edited June 7, 2012 by dimreepr