Building Curiosity with SMTP TED Talks

Written by: Neo Ky-Sheng (4i2, 2026)

Four weeks ago, I stood before a (rather distracted) audience in a Secondary 3 classroom. For the next thirty minutes (it was supposed to be fifteen, but I like to talk a lot), I detailed the physics behind a five-minute clip from Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps. During my presentation, I explained Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, how orbits worked, and how a gravitational slingshot works. I explained the basics of general relativity and why the curvature of spacetime causes time dilation. I talked about neutron stars, black holes, their characteristics, and their differences. And at the end of the presentation, I received a round of applause as I disconnected my laptop.

This is a ritual that every Secondary 4 student in the Science-Math Talent Programme (SMTP) must undergo. Introduced just this year, the SMTP TED Talks are a brand-new scheme tailored to build confidence in SMTP students, convey their passion for Math and Science, and inspire their juniors to stay curious. Each student is required to prepare one presentation on a topic of their personal passion, relating to physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics.

But I was not just a presenter that day. I was also a member of the audience. I learned that microwave ovens are Faraday cages that allow visible light to pass through so you can see your food, but prevent microwaves from melting your face off. I learned that the Fibonacci sequence is more evenly spread out when viewed on a logarithmic scale. And I learned that there is a mathematical proof that the sum of every integer you can think of is equal to minus one twelfth.

Over the course of four sessions, Secondary 3 and 4 students from SMTP classes listened to their classmates discuss a litany of topics they were deeply passionate about. Each presenter was given a platform to share not just the knowledge they gained through research and lessons, but also their burning love for science and math. 

But of course, SMTP TED Talks offer more than just a platform for students to share their passion and hone their communication skills. They are also an avenue for learning. SMTP TED Talks are a fantastic opportunity to explore and play with concepts you won’t find in your typical science subject syllabus. The audience gets thirty minutes to listen, understand new concepts, re-evaluate their viewpoints, and ask questions to broaden their understanding. 

Opportunities like SMTP TED Talks are what push science forward. Knowledge is, after all, an infinitely extending vein of ores, and we are just little people with little pickaxes, forever chipping away at the walls. We must cultivate a value that will forever push scientists to keep chipping, to relish the never-ending process of striking at walls in search of gems. That value is, of course, curiosity. The desire to keep asking and answering questions, for the thrill of it.

And SMTP TED Talks achieve exactly that. There was a presentation that day by my schoolmate, Jingyi. He explained the concept of infinity and used intriguing hypothetical scenarios, like the famous “Infinity Hotel”, to explain the different types of infinity. And something caught my attention. He mentioned that there was a mathematical proof that the sum of every known integer is minus one twelfth. When Q & A began, I inquired about it. And he picked up a whiteboard marker, opened up Google, and explained it to the audience. It was truly mind-blowing for me - something that I had never heard of. When a student hears about an idea that baffles them, they don’t think, “That’s too complicated” or “They’re smarter than me” - instead, they go, “What’s up with that?” That’s curiosity at work, and that is the driving force that pushes humanity to keep chipping away at the walls.

However, it is an opportunity for presenters to learn too. I began my SMTP TED Talk with a simple goal - figure out whether the science behind a five-minute movie scene held water. This simple goal led me down a rabbit hole of research papers, Wikipedia sources, and questions. So, so many questions. The concepts I aimed to investigate and understand kept leading me to wonder and learn about broader and more wide-spanning ideas. Learning about general relativity’s link to time dilation only led me to wonder more about general relativity. Not only is this process useful in helping students gain a bird's-eye view of interrelated topics, but it is also beneficial in honing their research skills and curiosity. After all, “keep asking questions” is the foundation of scientific research, and cultivating this mindset in the next generation of researchers is instrumental in paving the way for greater discoveries in the years to come.

If you were to pay a visit to Hwa Chong’s school website today, our school’s Mission would read, “We nurture leaders in Research, Industry and Government to serve the nation.” A school like ours could only breed talent that led the frontiers of their fields as it has equipped them with values that they will use for life. And SMTP TED Talks play a minute role in all that, but it’s part of a bigger framework. A structure of programmes that teach students to explore, to wonder, and to stay curious and inquisitive. I hope that students like myself will never let go of the burning curiosity to keep figuring new things out, and I am happy for platforms like these that do not just allow us to keep digging for knowledge, but to learn how to share them with the world. I look forward to the day when we can proudly say that in a scientific field, it is a classmate of mine at the lead, because SMTP TED Talks taught him to never stop asking, “Why?”