The Little Scientist Within: How Childhood Curiosity Shaped My Path!

Ever since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by how things work. I was that child who'd break open toy cars just to peek at the motors and winds. Annoying my parents by asking how Airplanes fly? Where does lightning come from? Why did different kitchen objects make different noises when hit? And how did my cousins magically transfer pictures through the air with Bluetooth (In the early Nokia, Sony Ericson days)?

My thirst for knowledge even drove me to learn to read properly in Tamil, primarily so I could devour the science and space articles in "Vijay," a kids' magazine (Tamil version of 'Vijaya" magazine). Space programs and the latest technological findings filled me with awe, and I eagerly read every science lesson in my school Science & ENV books.

But it wasn't just space that sparked my interest. I remember watching "Jurassic Park" and being utterly captivated by the concept of DNA. Learning about Dolly the sheep (from an article in 'Vijay' magazine), a cloned animal with no mother or father, blew my mind. If scientists could create life, could they one day bring back dinosaurs too? These were the things I dreamt of almost every night.

Looking back, It's not just about the things I learnt from reading, I'm amazed by how I used the scientific method even as a young child. One memory stands out vividly. I was five years old, and I was convinced the moon followed me as I walked. But how could that be? All of us share the same moon isn't it?

On the eve of my brother's naming ceremony (June 2006),  I decided to test my theory. I gathered my cousins, asked them to stand in different spots outside, and told them to walk in different directions. Did the moon follow them too? They all said yes. It was then I realized the moon only felt like it was moving with us – it couldn't possibly travel in so many directions at once!

Another instance involved the tooth fairy (or rather, the tooth squirrel, as my mom told me). She said if I threw a fallen tooth on the roof, a squirrel would take it and give me a new one. Skeptical, I pretended to throw a tooth, but secretly hid it to see what would happen. Observing it daily, I confirmed that a new tooth grew regardless of the old one’s fate.

I shared these stories with a friend at university last night, and it struck me how naturally my brain worked scientifically, even in childhood. It reminded me of something Neil deGrasse Tyson once said: "A Scientist is just a KID who never grew up".

Luckily, I've not yet grown up😉. Today, I'm a Second year undergraduate studying Chemistry, Physics, and Zoology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the Open University of Sri Lanka. My childhood curiosity has blossomed into a lifelong pursuit of knowledge, continually driving me to explore, question, and learn.

Abishek Rathnakumar [BSc - Natural Sciences (UG)]