For those who found this article,
We are living in a world where clean water flows from taps, food can be delivered to our doors, and strangers are our trusted drivers. It is truly fascinating to think about.
This world is ever-evolving, and it will continue to be long after us.
The contribution of others
What history has taught is that substances may change, but humans tendency to make use of them will not.
Our music consumption, for instance,
From the earliest invention by Thomas Edison of the phonograph (which has evolved and is now known as vinyl) to the cassette, compact discs, and digital distributions. Our method has surely changed with time, but our tendency to make great use of music has not.
The questions are: how did they make what seemed useless in their time useful? How did they become inventors or pioneers in what they did? Please read on.
Why do we say useless?
We all label something as "useless" in our lifetime.
The reason we say a thing is useless is because of exactly what the term implies: use-less. Yes, we do not use it enough, which results in a lack of understanding of it.
Consequently, a thing is defined as useless due to our lack of understanding, which we always think we do, but if so, surely we will then see its use case, isn't it?
We do not use it enough and therefore lack understanding of it, thereby making it useless. This "it" can be anything.
The truth is that whatever we deem useless, someone else will make it useful.
The essence is never about how useful a thing is, but rather how we make use of it. To make use of what we have. It's not the sword; it's the wielder.
To make a thing use-ful, we ought to use it to the fullest.
Use it more and see how useful it becomes.
How do we determine usefulness?
How do we actually determine whether something is useful or useless in the first place?
The answer is either our judgement or our curiosity.
Our judgement is based on our past experiences. Key word: past. One cannot judge without experience.
For example, assuming you dislike sourness here, if you have had oranges taste sour all your life, today, when someone offers you an orange, you'll find it difficult to believe it will be different. In this case, judgement will convince you not to try the orange.
Yet, we are an intelligence species, as somewhere in our brain we always have the capacity to learn and the will to desire new outcomes. Both of which are governed by our curiosity.
Here is why, when we focus more on curiosity, it can be a game changer.
Unlike judgement, curiosity is lifeward, it is the forward-thinking part of us. Curiosity is the key to the new outcomes we ever desire.
In forward thinking, everything is equal to possibilities. As such, nothing is useless to us. In curiosity mode, curiosity will get the best of you to try the aforementioned orange and see what happens.
To put it in perspective, here is how powerful curiosity can be:
A baby is born with curiosity. It is the same curiosity that, over time, drives the baby to learn who their parent is (love) and the universe around them (matter).
A baby is not born with love, hate, or knowledge; rather, they are gifted with curiosity, which leads to the rest. In our very beginning, as infants, everything is equal with possibilities; nothing is useless.
The bad news is that most of us have lost a big chunk of our own curiosity as we grow up in exchange for memorization skills and better judgement.
The good news is that curiosity is not a fixed attribute of humans. It can always be nurtured and developed further, regardless of what stage of life we are in.
To be useful
It is our brain that determines usefulness, not the matter itself. Understand this and use it well. Every atom in this universe has a use.
Focus on curiosity, which is associated with all of human development, including learning and desiring. Curiosity is the driving force behind mankind's development in language, science, and industry, to name a few.
To be useful is to see things in use. To leave it better than we found it.
Uselessness is labelled by those who have yet to realise usefulness. Those who embrace usefulness in life are the ones moving with time.
The world is ever-evolving, my friend. The situation changes; it will require us to adapt with time. And the way to achieve this is to tap more into our gifted curiosity, for it will always lead us to usefulness.
