Setup
From a young age, we are taught that answers matter more than questions. As adults, we experience powerful organizational and societal forces that keep us from asking (or hearing) uncomfortable questions. This creates an isolated, answer-centric world, often at our own peril. Business threats strike, seemingly out of nowhere. Innovations and new players, never before imagined, blindside us. Catalytic questions—ones that cause transformational change—hold the power to unlock these “unknown unknowns” and reveal startling new paths to innovation and creativity. But how can we restore our childlike curiosity to conquer these challenges? How can we start asking better questions to craft the creative solutions required for today’s wicked hard problems? This session explores how to escape the dangerous blind spot where “we don’t know what we don’t know” before it’s too late, to help us become better questioners at work and in life.
- 2017 Festival
- Society
Explore More
Society



You may have heard of "Dry January" and mocktails, but what is being "sober curious" really about? Ahead of Aspen Ideas: Health, Sans Bar's Chris Marshall explains the growin...

Are you truly tuned in to the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and textures that surround you every day? Ahead of her book talk at Aspen Ideas: Health, best-selling author Gret...



The pandemic put into stark relief deeply-ingrained gender roles in society, as the burden of unpaid care fell to millions of women who left the workforce. Yet the past years...

Friends, partners, children, families, coworkers — these connections profoundly shape our lives and happiness. For many of us, the upheaval of the past few years became an une...



















Jump in by watching our ten most popular talks of all time. From black holes to jazz and civil rights to psychology hacks, we've collected the talks that remain audience favor...





From the Supreme Court's ruling on abortion rights to public health's role in addressing gun violence to the devastating human toll of the war in Ukraine, this year's Aspen Id...

