Big Ideas For Young Thinkers: 20 questions about life and the universe

WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG?

Take a moment to reflect on how you learned the difference between “good” and “bad” actions. Chances are, you have a sense of which behaviors are helpful and which ones are harmful. Now, write down what you’ve learned about what’s right and what’s wrong in two columns.

In countries where laws came from Western philosophy, the law assumes that free will exists for all and that the courts will make judgments with this in mind. This is why laws related to children are often different, because questions arise about the extent to which people should be held responsible for their actions when their brains are still developing and they are still learning right from wrong.

You may be wondering whether some things are always simply right or wrong, no matter what the context. The Universal Declaration on Human Rights asserts that all human beings have a birthright to certain “human rights” or freedoms throughout their lives, and that violating these rights is always wrong.

WHAT IS IMAGINATION?

Our imagination gives us the freedom to explore endless possibilities without any limits. It is a powerful and useful part of the mind that allows us to expand our horizons, and envision new pathways or potential realities.

Imagination is about world-making. It helps us understand ourselves and everything outside of us with a fresh perspective. That's why humans connect deeply with storytelling, fantasy, and lore (traditional stories and knowledge). American science-fiction writer Octavia E. Butler acknowledged the importance of pairing knowledge with creativity to capture imaginations through her work: "Fantasy is totally wide open; all you really have to do is follow the rules you've set. But if you're writing about science, you have to first learn what you're writing about.”

WHAT IS MEMORY?

What is the earliest moment in your life that you still remember now?

For most of us, our earliest memory is from between the ages of three and four years old. Some of us might recall things that happened when we were two, but it is rare. Science shows that our ability to form memories doesn’t fully develop in the earliest “preverbal” stage of life.

Some of our most vivid memories might not have happened exactly the way we think they did, either. Scientists have found that the words we use to recall an event can actually influence what we believe happened at that time.