Are kids the best question askers?

My seven year old daughter recently asked me if anyone in

the world could speak every language. I paused. I didn’t think anyone could. That seemed impossible.​

Then I second guessed myself. Was it possible? I quickly scanned my mental file cabinet for some kind of clue. Maybe I saw something about it on Jeopardy? Maybe a spelling bee champ went on to learn every language? I found nothing in my mental files, but I didn’t want to shoot down my daughter’s question so I said I wasn’t sure.​

She looked at me and made a curious face. “Hmmm… how could we find out?” Her second question sent us off on a curiosity mission.​

How could we find out?

​Instead of Googling it or asking ChatGPT, we started by thinking about how many languages there might be in the world and how we might figure that out. How many countries are there? How many languages might be spoken in each country? Could the United States be a good proxy since so many people speak so many languages in the US?​

As we did this, I felt a little bit ashamed. I would never have had the courage to ask a question like that. Instead I’d be doubting myself.​

What if the answer was too obvious?

What if someone actually could speak every language, and I’d somehow never heard about it?

Was it even possible to do?

Was it just too ridiculous to ask?​

My seven-year-old daughter had none of those concerns. She just wondered, so she asked.​

I thought about times when I was in a work meeting and didn’t understand something, but refused to ask, assuming I was the only one. I recalled conversations with people who referenced something I’d never heard of. Instead of asking, I just let it go, figuring I’d eventually get some kind of context that would tell me.​

My daughter and I talked about her question for a while. We never really got to a definitive answer, but by the end of our mission we both agreed it probably wasn’t possible for someone to speak every language.​

I loved how genuine the interaction was. I also felt sad

knowing that in a few years, her unfiltered curiosity

would probably fade. Self consciousness will creep in during the teenage years. As an adult, she’ll feel like she should already know the answers.
​
But, what if she kept that same childhood curiosity? What if everyone did? What if assumptions went away? What if experts asked instead of told?​

What if…?