Category: Curiosity

What Are You Most Curious About?

What you are curious about as an individual helps define you. And what we are curious about as a society helps define us.

Curiosity is one of the driving forces in our development as a species. It can influence the questions we ask, and bring about the scientific discoveries we make as a result. It can inform the stories we tell, and even before that, the stories we read.

But society is made up of individuals, and what we are curious about individually ultimately defines our collective curiosity.

With that in mind: what are you most curious about? And what do you do about that curiosity?

When we are young, the interests we have drive our learning, growth, and development. That might include which books we choose to read, the friends we make, the elective classes we take in school, as well as other life choices.

As an adult, it can influence the jobs we pursue, where we choose to live, who we marry, and so on. Seen in that light, our curiosity helps inform many of the key decisions that define us.

Can you think of examples of something that made you wonder, and how that eventually led, step by step, to some aspect of your life today? Does your curiosity play a part in the hobbies you take part in? The job you have, or the work you do in that job?

Do you read books, skim Wikipedia articles, watch documentaries, or take part in discussion groups? In what ways do you satisfy your curiosity?

Related questions: What makes you curious? How can we encourage curiosity? How can we maintain wonder?

What Music Would You Recommend People Give A Try?

Is there a musical artist that you think an adventurous listener might try? What song or album is likely to make someone a fan?

Share why if you wish.

How Can We Encourage Curiosity?

Curiosity is an important trait to have for any healthy human. How can we make sure that we are as curious as possible?

There are many ways that curiosity helps us, and there are also ways that a lack of it can hurt us.

For instance, being curious about our environment is how we learn as children. We wonder about about the things around us, and that helps us with motor skills, language, reasoning, and other developmental skills.

It also helps us continue our education, both formally and informally. Formally through school and from teachers, and informally as we read on our own and in the hobbies we pursue.

To see how a lack of curiosity can hurt us, look no further than today’s political climate. Most people are content in echo feedback chambers, listening to opinions that mirror their own. They seek out news outlets that confirm their own viewpoint, and may even choose friends the same way.

One way out of this problem is to be curious about people you disagree with. Do you dismiss them out of hand, or do you wonder why they have another opinion? Being curious about something different — different religion, political party, skin color, native language,  and so on — allows us to be more understanding.

Curiosity can also lead to better mental health. As we age, learning about things you don’t already know keeps our brains flexible. It can help our own health as well as helping society at large.

So those are some of the benefits. But what are the specific methods we can employ to achieve these positive outcomes? What can we do in our everyday lives to encourage curiosity?

Related questions: How do you learn? What does it mean to be healthy? How do you adopt new ideas? How can we maintain wonder?

What Motivates You?

To help you make the most of your life, it is helpful to know several things about yourself. One of the most important is: What motivates you?

Understanding your motivations can help you become more clear and directed when it comes to acting on what is important to you. It can also help you avoid efforts by others to manipulate you into taking action when you otherwise wouldn’t.

For example, let’s think about click-bait. As you surf the web, you may see an ad for something that tries to appeal to your motivation. “Learn this one trick to lose weight” could be a sample advertisement, that targets two different motivations: curiosity (what is the one trick?) and fear (I’m too fat).

There are many different types of motivations possible. In the example above, we saw curiosity and fear, which are prime motivators for many people.

Related: Listen to an episode of the Intellectual Roundtable Podcast, where Lee and Michael discuss this question: ‘How much of our thoughts are our own?’ We discuss another question as well, ‘How much is enough?’

We are a naturally curious species, which for the most part has allowed us to ascend, for better or worse, to the place we now inhabit in the ecosystem. Being curious about how the world works has spurred a remarkable series of advances in science and technology.

But fear is also motivates us. We are often afraid of what we don’t know, plus we can fear rejection from society. There are many organizations that rely on these fears to manipulate and control you.

On opposite ends of the motivation spectrum, we are also motivated by anger or by love. What other motivations can you think of?

Related questions: What is important? What deserves your attention? How much of our thoughts are our own? How does media manipulate you? What five ideals are most important to you? How can we turn ideas into actions?

Questions Or Answers?

Are you the type that prefers asking the question, or getting the answer? Questions can frame the issue; answers can be very enlightening.

Share why if you wish.

Questions Or Answers?
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