'Where my reason, imagination or interest were not engaged, I would not or could not learn.' Sir Winston Churchill
Yesterday, I had a great discussion about the origins of the word 'compliment'. I immediately wanted to grab my cell phone and google the word. Instead, we started guessing by analysing the different parts of the word and by deducting in which language the word was rooted. We came up with pretty good but also some completely idiotic, funny explanations. When we finally did google the word, we found out that some of our explanations were not so far away from the truth.
Would I still remember where the word comes from if I had googled it right away? Maybe not. Would I have benefitted from such a funny and engaging process of creative thinking and reasoning? Surely not. Learning takes place when we truly engage with the content and when we take the time to ponder thoughts in our heads without looking for the easy way.
Next time you come across a challenge, take a deep breath, consciously stop your impulse to ask Google and allow 5 minutes to think for yourself.
