Issue 225 Students should bring a certain skepticism to whatever they study. They should question what they are taught instead of accepting it passively.

[Peach]

Some people contend that students should mainly accept what they
study; in contrary, I assert that students should always cogitate on
what they have learned and read. You might find yourself sailing with
a broken compass thus deviate from the correct way.

First, asking questions plays an essential role in our learning
process.From my prospect, students could learn more effectively while
they find answers to their questions by themselves, instead of
cramming materials into their brain. You could not attain the academic
laurel without passion and eagerness. Besides, human beings are making
progress rapidly, and some big bang theories rendered once a while.
Information and knowledge contained in books and materials were once
correct but they might be outdated or flaw now. Furthermore, teachers
or professors may commit some mistakes without notice. Students who
keep doubtful toward what they learned could prevent themselves from
obsolete concepts or false conclusions. For instance, traced back to
sixteenth century, Roman Catholic asserted that the earth is flat. If
people believed in what they have been taught whole heartedly, nobody
could stall this fallacy and correct this mistake.

Moreover, to develop ruminating abilities is far more important
than receiving information or accepting knowledge. Thanks to the
invention of the internet, all threads of information could be easily
accessed by google. Thus, recent human beings could conserve their
memory space for more economical purpose than inscribe dead
information. Take learning math for an analogy. Equations and axioms
are not the first priority in a math class, but deductive logic and
process behind them. In other words, students should develop the
ability to organize events and infer hidden reasons. Otherwise,
students without problems could easily be trapped by their blind spots
thus fail to develop the tremendous outcome.

Some people might not accede to my viewpoint for many reasons.
They would assert that if students maintain skeptical to all they
learned, they might waste too much time on asking questions. In
addition, some advanced theorems require broader knowledge which
prevent lecturers from elaborating every aspect of knowledge. All
these drawbacks are true, but advantages could outweigh those flaws. I
would say that a dubious attitude seems to be an inevitable evil
during our learning process.

In conclusion, keeping skepticism in mind toward knowledge might
benefit students in learning for many reasons. They could avoid
fallacies and learn more while they are digging into the problems.
Furthermore, they might be able to eliminate their blind spots or
develop some advanced pondering techniques or organizing skills. To
sum up, I contend that students should question what they are taught.