Curiosity and the “A-ha!” moment.
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 by
Permalink for this paragraph 0 After reading about Graff’s “A-ha!” moment I thought of my own choice to become an English major. I surprised many of my friends and some of my family with this choice—I had always enjoyed reading, but was always going to do something science related. I did not have a single “A-ha” moment but a lot of small “A-has” that changed my mind during the second half of high school.
Permalink for this paragraph 0 I have never really been able to define why this change took place. I started to figure it out, however, while thinking about how the process of choosing a topic in The Craft of Research I had another little “A-ha” moment. I realized that studying English can also be a study of almost anything else. Through research one can satisfy a curiosity of almost anything.
Permalink for this paragraph 2 I enjoy not only reading, but breaking down a text to unravel its mysteries. Reading and digging deeper into texts can satisfy curiosity for me in ways which choosing a specific scientific course of study never would be able to do.
I agree that literature provides more “mysteries” than many other subjects. When there is only one true, concrete answer a subject can become very confining and well, boring. Literature is always evolving and always changed by perspective.
I agree with you that trying to unravel the mystery within a text is one of the best parts of reading a work. Each work becomes much more meaningful when you realize that it is complex work that needs some unwrapping