This increased awareness and curiosity stimulates the desire to learn...

This increased awareness and curiosity stimulates the desire to learn, which can sometimes becomes intolerable to the parent when the child continuously bombards him/her with innumerable questions. This desire is, in cognitive psychology, known as ‘the sense of research'. Abu Rayhan Birooni, the famous Iranian mathematician in the 10 th and 11 th century AD, was visited in the last hours of his life by one of his jurist friends.

As soon as Birooni saw his friend he asked him a jurisprudential question although he was lying on his sick bed. The jurist was astonished at this type of questioning, however replied: “You are too ill my friend for scientific discussions, are you sure you want me to answer you?” With a weak voice, Birooni continued:…