Uncertainty is celebrated

Uncertainty is a very bad thing. It's evolutionarily a bad thing. If you're not sure that's a predator, it's too late...

The question "why?" is one of the most dangerous things you can do because it takes you into uncertainty. And yet, the irony is that the only way we can ever do anything new is to step into that space. So how can we ever do anything new.?

Fortunately, evolution has given us answer, and it enables to address even the most difficult of questions.

The best questions are the ones that create uncertainty. They're the ones that questions the things that we think to be true already. It's easy to ask questions about how did life begin or what is the extent of the known universe, but to question what we think to be true already is really stepping into that space.

So, what is evolution's answer to the problem of uncertainty? It's play. Now play is not simply a process. Experts in play will tell you that actually it's a way of being. Play is one of the only human endeavors where uncertainty is celebrated. Uncertainty is what makes play fun.

Beau Lotto explaining why play helps us answer the most difficult questions. He goes on to claim that the characteristics of play are exactly the characteristics that make a good scientist.

From there, he wondered if children would make great scientists. It turns out they do. The student of Blackawton Primary School in Devon came up with, designed and implemented a scientific experiment. The results of which made a valuable contribution to science and were eventually published in a scientific journal.

Amy O'Toole, one of the students involved in the project, is an impressive speaker. Her part of the talk alone makes this a TED talk worth watching.

[ted id=1587]