the cancer guy wrote:
Kids are not encouraged by parents to have healthy intelligent pursuits. As they transition from kids, they get peer pressure which narrows the field even more. If they actually get out of high school the universities will more than likely stiffle their individual thought and creativity due to the amount of work required to get a degree. If you somehow make it past that gauntlet you hit mainstream American life. I work in software and I TRY to make in interesting and I am the ONLY one at my office of 250 people who would break out a book to study an idea over a cookbook technique. No one wants to know the whys any more. They just want the end result. Sadly, it just seems there are lots of situations designed against cultivating that in "normal" American life. If you cherish, honor, and, develop it by letting kids know how precious, special and important it is (without blowing smoke up their butts) they will be richer members of society. Hopefully they will wake up one day and say "This is me" too, thereby, embracing it as their own. But, the best we as parents can do is put it before them, give them some nudges, hugs, and, positive reinforcement while guiding them as best we can to what their bent might be.
I agree with your thoughts about "no one wants to know the whys." That's the most interesting part of life, along with doing enjoyable activities with the people you love. I can get lost on the internet for days looking up information about some line of products that I might buy or researching a new activity or learning about the history of a region that I just visited. The whys, my friend, the whys!