Let Curiosity Lead | Yara Shahidi | TED

Summary

The speaker reminisces about their childhood filled with imagination and curiosity, which gradually transformed into a more practical adult life. They emphasize the importance of maintaining curiosity as a tool for envisioning and creating new worlds. The speaker shares their personal journey of balancing acting and education, advocating for the pursuit of multiple passions and interests. They argue that curiosity, not just expertise, is crucial for societal progress and personal growth, encouraging everyone to embrace their unique interests and explore the possibilities they hold.

Takeaways

• 🌟 The speaker reminisces about the sense of wonder and curiosity from childhood, which gradually shifted towards more practical concerns as they grew older.
• 🌱 They highlight the importance of maintaining an imaginative and creative spirit, even as life becomes more focused on routine and work.
• 📚 The speaker advocates for curiosity as a tool to envision new possibilities and to find one's place in the world.
• 🎭 Acting and education are presented as two passions that have shaped the speaker's life, providing opportunities for exploration and understanding.
• 🤔 The speaker discusses the challenge of balancing multiple interests and the pressure to specialize in one area, arguing for the value of pursuing multiple passions.
• 🌐 They share their personal journey of attending Harvard while acting in a TV show, demonstrating how curiosity can bridge different worlds.
• 💡 Curiosity is described as a lifeline, helping the speaker navigate feelings of pessimism and uncertainty about their place in the world.
• 🔍 The speaker emphasizes the power of curiosity to challenge societal norms and 'universal truths' that can perpetuate systems of oppression.
• 🌈 They argue that curiosity can lead to 'rupture' — the introduction of new ideas and perspectives that disrupt the status quo.
• 🚀 The speaker encourages everyone to embrace their unique interests and curiosities as a means to create and shape a better future.

Q & A

What did the speaker feel the world was like during their childhood?

The speaker felt the world was filled with time travel and adventures, and they were in awe of natural phenomena like flowers growing from seeds.

How did the speaker's perspective on the world change as they grew older?

As the speaker grew older, their sense of wonder and adventure transformed into more mundane activities, such as using GPS to navigate traffic and viewing sunrises only during all-nighters for work.

What did the speaker realize was missing from their young adult life?

The speaker realized that the imaginative and creative forces that once drove them had less space to thrive in their young adult life.

Why does the speaker believe curiosity is an essential tool in today's world?

The speaker believes curiosity is essential because it allows us to envision what could be different and helps us to build new worlds and find our place in them.

How did the speaker's curiosity manifest during their early years?

The speaker's curiosity manifested by reimagining and acting out stories like The Odyssey with dolls and reading various religious books at a young age.

What was the challenge the speaker faced when starting college at Harvard while filming a TV show?

The speaker faced the challenge of balancing their passion for acting, which allowed them to explore fantasies, with their desire for education, which fulfilled their desire to know more about the world and themselves.

What question did the speaker often encounter as they pursued multiple interests?

The speaker often encountered the question 'Are you sure about that?' when pursuing multiple interests, which made them feel like they had to choose between their passions.

How did the speaker's experiences in college and acting influence each other?

The speaker found that lessons from college classes informed their acting and vice versa, such as learning about media preservation in a hip-hop sampling class and using that knowledge in their TV production company.

What is the term the speaker uses to describe the change that emerges from curiosity?

The speaker uses the term 'rupture' to describe the change that emerges from blossomed curiosities, which introduces something fresh and challenges past ways of thinking.

What lesson did the speaker learn from Dr. Cornel West's independent study about societal truths?

The speaker learned that certain elements of society deemed as universal and immovable truths are often subjective and responsible for systems of oppression.

How does the speaker feel about the end of their college journey and TV show?

The speaker feels excited rather than terrified about the end of their college journey and TV show because they have built a life centered on curiosity, which means their purpose is constantly unfolding.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 The Power of Imagination and Curiosity

The speaker reminisces about their childhood, filled with wonder and curiosity, contrasting it with the more mundane and technology-driven experiences of adulthood. They express a concern that as they grew older, their imaginative and creative forces were stifled by the pressures of practicality and routine. The speaker argues that curiosity is a vital tool for envisioning a different world and encourages embracing it to find one's place in the world. They share their personal journey of following their curiosities, from childhood play to academic and acting pursuits, and how they managed to balance these passions despite skepticism from others.

05:01

🌱 Embracing Curiosity Amidst Challenges

The speaker discusses the challenges of maintaining optimism and finding one's place in a world rife with systemic flaws and oppression. They recount their personal struggle with the question 'Are you sure about that?' which led them to suppress their curiosity and hide behind a facade of expertise. However, they ultimately chose to embrace their curiosity, which they found to be a lifeline. The speaker shares how their academic and acting experiences provided them with lessons and opportunities to explore new perspectives, leading to a recommitment to curiosity and a realization of its power to drive change and innovation.

10:04

🚀 The Unfolding Journey of Curiosity

In this final paragraph, the speaker reflects on the end of their college journey and the conclusion of their television show, which would have once terrified them. However, with a life built on curiosity, they look forward to the next adventure. They emphasize that curiosity leads to a constantly evolving sense of purpose and encourages others to honor their unique interests and distractions. The speaker calls for a collective commitment to curiosity, viewing it as an act of creation and a way to acknowledge the infinite possibilities that exist beyond the confines of the world's limitations.

Keywords

💡Curiosity

Curiosity is the eagerness to learn or know something, often leading to exploration and discovery. In the video, curiosity is presented as a driving force behind personal growth and societal progress. The speaker shares how their own curiosity led them to explore various fields, from acting to academia, and how it has been a lifeline in challenging times. The video emphasizes that nurturing curiosity can lead to innovation and a broader perspective on life.

💡Imagination

Imagination refers to the ability to form images, ideas, or concepts of external objects not present to the senses. In the context of the video, imagination is portrayed as a vital tool for envisioning new possibilities and creating change. The speaker reminisces about their childhood filled with imaginative adventures and contrasts it with the more mundane aspects of adult life, advocating for the importance of maintaining an imaginative spirit to drive creativity and innovation.

💡Adventure

An adventure is an exciting or unusual experience, often involving personal discovery or risk-taking. The video script uses the concept of adventure to describe the speaker's childhood experiences and their later endeavors in both acting and education. The term is used metaphorically to convey the idea that life is a journey of exploration and learning, where each new experience can be an adventure that enriches one's understanding of the world.

💡Creativity

Creativity is the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; it is the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, and patterns to create meaningful new ideas. The video highlights creativity as a key outcome of curiosity and imagination, suggesting that it is essential for problem-solving and envisioning a better future. The speaker's journey through acting and education exemplifies how creativity can be nurtured and applied in various aspects of life.

💡Expertise

Expertise refers to a high level of skill or knowledge in a particular area, often gained through extensive experience or education. In the video, the speaker discusses the tension between pursuing expertise and maintaining curiosity. They argue that while expertise is valued in society, it can sometimes limit one's openness to new ideas and perspectives. The speaker encourages balancing expertise with curiosity to foster innovation and adaptability.

💡Oppression

Oppression is the unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power, often resulting in the systematic denial of rights and privileges to a particular group. The video touches on the theme of oppression as a societal flaw that affects the speaker and their community. It is used to illustrate the real-world implications of systemic issues and to emphasize the importance of curiosity and creativity in challenging and changing these oppressive structures.

💡Rupture

In the video, rupture is used to describe a significant break or change from established norms or systems. It represents the transformative potential that arises from curiosity-driven exploration and creativity. The speaker uses the term to argue for the importance of challenging 'universal truths' and traditional ways of thinking, suggesting that ruptures can lead to new understandings and more equitable systems.

💡Possibility

Possibility refers to the state or fact of being possible, or the opportunity to achieve or experience something. The video script emphasizes the importance of recognizing and pursuing possibilities as a result of curiosity. The speaker encourages the audience to embrace their interests and passions, suggesting that doing so opens up a world of opportunities and potential for personal and societal growth.

💡Growth

Growth in the video is used to describe the process of developing or becoming more mature, advanced, or complex. It is tied to the theme of personal development and the idea that nurturing curiosity and imagination can lead to personal and intellectual growth. The speaker's journey through various life experiences is presented as a series of growth opportunities that have enriched their understanding and capabilities.

💡Harvard

Harvard refers to Harvard University, an Ivy League institution known for its academic excellence. In the video, the speaker mentions attending Harvard as part of their educational journey, highlighting the importance of formal education in fulfilling their desire to learn and understand the world. The mention of Harvard also serves to illustrate the speaker's commitment to balancing their acting career with their pursuit of knowledge.

💡Grown-ish

Grown-ish is a television show that the speaker was involved in while attending Harvard. The show is mentioned to illustrate the speaker's dual commitment to both acting and education, and how they navigated the challenges of pursuing multiple passions simultaneously. It serves as an example of how one can integrate creativity and professional work with academic pursuits.

Highlights

The world felt bigger in childhood due to time travel and adventures.

Childhood was filled with wonder about the growth of flowers and the movement of celestial bodies.

Fantasy lands were explored through books, contrasting with the adult world of GPS and traffic.

The transition from childhood to adulthood involved a shift from imagination to practicality.

The need to maintain space for imagination and creativity in adult life.

The world requires imagination to envision change.

Curiosity as a tool for building new worlds and finding one's place.

The speaker's life has been a case study in following curiosities.

Curiosity led to exploring various interests from a young age.

The challenge of balancing acting and education at Harvard.

The importance of education in fulfilling the desire to know and understand oneself.

The pressure to choose one passion over another and the struggle with the question 'Are you sure about that?'.

The decision to pursue both acting and education despite the challenges.

The universal experience of juggling multiple interests and the expectation to focus on one thing.

The idea that our multiple interests can be seen as incompatible and the impact of this perception.

The realization that curiosity has been a lifeline, especially in the face of the world's flaws.

The importance of curiosity in finding joy in discovering what one does not know.

The transformative power of curiosity in both academics and entertainment.

The concept of 'rupture' as a result of curiosity, introducing fresh perspectives and change.

The potential of everyday curiosities to create significant change in society.

The historical examples of leaders whose day jobs were not their primary contribution to social change.

The importance of not letting the world convince us of its finiteness when we have infinite possibilities.

The call to action to recommit to curiosity and build new futures together.

Transcripts

Do you remember how big the world felt when we were younger?

Because my childhood was filled with time travel and adventures.

I sat in awe of how flowers grew from a simple seed.

I remember looking up at the sky and wondering:

Was the Earth moving? Was the sun moving? Or was I moving?

And I filled the rest of the time by reading books about fantasy lands.

But slowly, the time travel and adventures of my youth

became using my GPS

to figure out how much traffic I'd inevitably be sitting in.

The flowers became the screen saver to my laptop I spent way too much time on.

I only saw the sunrise when pulling all-nighters to get work done.

And those fantasy lands, well,

those became essays and articles from underfunded newspapers.

And yes, some of this is just a part of growing up, necessary even.

But I realized the imaginative and creative forces that drove me

had less and less space to thrive in my young adult life.

And in being forced to look at the world as it is,

I was missing out on the opportunity to look at the world as it could be.

Now more than ever,

we live in a world that requires of us an imagination

so that we can envision what could be different.

And while I didn't come prepared today to answer the world's largest problems,

I would like to make a case

for how one tool can help us continue to build new worlds

and find our place in it.

Curiosity.

I don't have any fancy graphs to show you all today,

but I would like to think that I'm sort of an expert in the field

as my entire life has been a case study in following my curiosities.

It started super simple.

My grampy and I would reimagine and act out

the entire saga of The Odyssey with my Polly Pocket dolls,

as one does at the age of four.

And around the age of five,

I asked for every religious book, I mean every religious book.

Fast forwarding to 13, I read my first short story

from the formidable James Baldwin,

and my life was forever changed.

Needless to say, I was grateful to be surrounded

by a community of people that honored my interests.

But as I got older, I began to get confronted

by a big question:

Are you sure about that?

Now this was a question I really could not escape.

In August of 2018, right as I was embarking on my next adventure.

I was beginning my freshman year at Harvard

right as my television show “Grown-ish” began filming season two.

And I was at a crossroads, because acting for me has been more than a career.

It's given me permission to explore my fantasies.

I feel like I gain another level of empathy

every time I step into a different character's shoes.

But my education has been equally as pivotal.

Because my education has fulfilled my endless desire to know:

to know places, to know the events that have shaped us,

the communities that have built us,

the obstacles that have tried to stop us,

the mistakes that haunt us.

But selfishly, to know about myself and my place in the world.

So my two lifelong passions were colliding,

and I was being told by academic advisers and entertainment folk alike --

although no one on my team --

that there was no symbiotic relationship between the two worlds.

I was searching for an "and,"

but I kept getting presented an "either-or."

And I almost let those five words -- “Are you sure about that?” -- stop me.

But let me cut to the chase.

I'm speaking to you now as a Harvard alum

with a television show going into its sixth season.

(Applause)

It's cool.

And while my college predicament may have been unusual,

I do think this experience is quite universal.

Because, one, I’m far from the first person

to go to school while working.

But also I'd go so far as to say all of us juggle multiple interests,

passions and jobs.

Yet there comes a moment on our paths

where we're expected to get serious,

to find our one thing, stick to it.

We're told that our multiple areas of interest

that we are equally drawn to are incompatible.

And hit with that all-too-familiar “Are you sure about that?”

Suddenly we go from being expected to know math and a language,

science and history,

to operating in this narrow silo

for the sake of becoming an expert or really good at one thing.

I mean, think about how many times we ask each other the question,

"What do you do?"

Which is really a proxy in my mind for a much more pressing question,

"Who are you right now?"

Because what we do is only a fraction of who we are.

And this culture of heralding expertise

means that our curiosities are often mislabeled as distractions.

I would love to think through what we could be missing out on

by not actively prioritizing our curiosity.

Here, let me put it this way.

Curiosity has been a lifeline for me.

It's really easy to be 23 and a pessimist.

It doesn't take many observational skills

to see the deep flaws and fissures of our world,

to see how close we remain to these systems of oppression

we swear are behind us.

And when I say I feel affected by these flaws,

I'm not just talking about

some existential "I have a degree in a social science" kind of way,

but in the very real way that it affects me and my family

and my community every day.

It's also easy to be 23 and struggle to find your place.

I remember so vividly being 16

and thinking that I could change the world.

I was certain of it. I was one voting initiative away.

I was one march away,

I was one panel away from real change,

the kind that lasts.

And I remember when that assuredness was replaced by quicksand.

It felt as though the more I moved and the more I struggled,

the more I sank into the overwhelm.

And I responded to feeling lost by finding comfort in my expertise,

hiding behind this false sense of certainty,

I really acted like I knew everything there was to know.

I was suppressing my curiosity,

but I realized that made it so much easier

to pick apart every potential decision rather than take action.

Now while I can't speak for everyone's experiences,

from conversations I've had with my peers and my mentors,

I know this feeling isn't relegated to being 23.

Choosing to take on both college and entertainment at the same time,

blending my two worlds,

was a necessary recommitment to my curiosity.

I found such a joy in discovering just how much I didn't know.

Lessons came from everywhere:

classes like hip-hop sampling,

on how neo soul and blues became the basis to a new sound

taught me how media can be used as a way of preserving legacy,

as a way of bringing past cultures into the present.

Playing Tinker Bell gave me permission to reignite my imagination.

My class on W.E.B. Du Bois

is where I discovered the name for our television production company,

7th Sun.

And building a television set and writers’ room

gave me the ability to practice equitable hiring

within an archaic system in real time.

And in an independent study created by Dr. Cornel West,

I learned my biggest lesson of all.

See, there are certain elements of our society

that we deem as universal, immovable truths,

when they're, in fact, subjective.

Not only are they subjective,

they're oftentimes responsible for these systems of oppression,

for these dangerous misconceptions about people,

for this feeling of stuckness, this feeling like nothing can change.

And to me, these universal truths can range from everything

as big as socioeconomic exploitation

to that "Are you sure about that?"

that stops you from going off on your own and exploring.

Conversely, this means academics and entertainment are most potent

in their abilities to demonstrate alternate realities.

This lesson reinvigorated my love for these two spaces

because I realized they'd always been primed for imagination and exploration

and gave us the ability to explore what can blossom from curiosity.

This perspective shift taught me that I was thinking too small

because I thought the task at hand was to merely alter these systems at play

rather than to imagine entirely new ways of being.

Because the results of curiosity are immeasurable.

From Galileo's reordering of the universe

to how the musician Prince undefined masculinity for generations.

And oftentimes these discoveries can jeopardize past ways of thinking.

I like to call the change that emerges from blossomed curiosities rupture.

If tradition is this result of repetition,

then rupture is the introduction of something fresh.

It's bridging together two spaces often kept separate

for the sake of achieving new ends,

and it's of insisting that there are possibilities

outside of the ones we've been presented with.

But too often dreaming is relegated to the academy

and to Silicon Valley, and to all of these exclusive institutions.

When it is in fact the daily curiosities

of every one of us

that holds the most potential for rupture.

Now if you aren't convinced just yet that you are

a universe-shifting change maker,

then it is my duty as a history nerd to remind you

that most of these leaders of these social change movements

that we credit with giving us the world that we live in today,

change was not their day job.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was a preacher

paying attention to the works of Gandhi across the ocean while reading Tolstoy.

But I also think of my own papa, who used his position within education

to enfranchise Black children in Madison, Wisconsin.

I think of my cousin, Anousheh Ansari,

who went from looking up at the stars in Iran

to flying to the space station.

I think about the protesters in Iran led by women and children,

putting their lives on the line

because they're curious about what a society looks like

that values women, life and freedom.

(Applause)

Now if it isn't clear,

do you know what the byproduct of curiosity is?

Possibility, surprise!

(Laughter)

Now I’ve graduated from Harvard, and my television show is ending.

And a couple of years ago, this really would have terrified me

to leave two spaces that I know so well.

But because I've built a life centered on honoring my interests,

everything from the glockenspiel to Octavia Butler,

I walk excitedly towards what's next

because I know somewhere between the two lies my next adventure.

Chasing curiosity means that my purpose is constantly unfolding in front of me.

All I have to do is pay attention.

And similarly, each and every one of us have a special set of interests

that are totally unique to us, like a thumbprint.

So please join me in recommitting to curiosity.

Because honoring your so-called distractions is an act of creating.

It's to sit in the grandeur of all of our options.

It's to acknowledge our infinite possibilities

when the world tries to convince us it is indeed finite.

So refuse to let your world get smaller, and let’s build new futures together.

Thank you.

(Applause)