I for Innovation, I for India

A few days ago, while chatting with a friend, she told me about an article that she read in a magazine. Till the time that a kid goes to school, s/he is always asking lots of questions about the world. Innocent questions, questions that often force adults to think for an answer. Questions about the world which amazes and stuns the little, curious kid. And then suddenly, the kid goes to school and stops asking the questions. For it is now the teacher who's doing all the asking! And the kid is expected to know the answers, rather than ask questions. And so s/he stops 'bothering' the adults with the questions. Does s/he stop having questions? Does the kid stop observing the amazing world around him? Most definitely not. But somewhere the kid learns - or is made to learn - that his questions are not really appreciated. And gradually, the kid stops having questions altogether! 

A few days ago read this article on Rediff, and that got me thinking. Why does India fall behind on innovation? Why does this nation of one billion plus (and growing!) fall short on ideas? And then while listening to my friend talk about this other article on kids and school, a thought came to my mind. It all starts very early, doesn't it? Very early on in life, at a stage where the child's imagination should develop wings and take off. Instead it is imprisoned in a cage with it's wings clipped. How else do you explain the fact that inspite of the leaps in information technology that India has made, there is little real innovation coming from us? Innovation is like a jigsaw puzzle. You have to figure out where - or what - are the missing pieces before you can put together the puzzle. And that requires constant questioning. What do I see here? How does this work? Why does it work the way it does? And kids often ask the most exciting questions! To their little minds, unbiased by any 'teaching', the world is one fascinating place, to be discovered, and explored and prodded. I remember reading the book The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, by Richard Feynman. There, Feynman talks about how, as a kid, his father used to take him to outdoor trips and ask him to observe nature. And learn by observing. And on the other hand, how the books in school teach by just stating things, and expecting that kids accept it without questioning! 

Well, let me make it clear, that I'm not writing this to rant about the education system, or teachers. But yes, some things definitely need to be looked at in a new light, if we are to move ahead in this Innovation Age. Indians definitely had the upper hand when it came to the Information Age. But that in itself will not suffice to move ahead. We will need to embrace the Innovation Age, if we are to propel ourselves in the big league, in the New Economy.