The Case for Curious
Warning: sweeping generalisations may be encountered - but you’ll get my point.
If I had to choose only one trait I could have, it would be curiosity.
Curiosity is interesting. We start as kids questioning everything as we seek to understand the world, but by the time we hit adulthood, those questions have gone from a raging torrent to a trickling stream.
You strengthen what you practice, so it follows we should become increasingly curious as we age.
But the opposite occurs.
Our curiosity declines as we advance in years. I presume this is because our knowledge grows to the point where we feel we have enough information to operate and can no longer be bothered to add new info.
I put this down in part to people thinking they know more than they actually do (can you explain precisely how a zipper works?). Or it may simply be apathy.
There is more to learn in the world than we can ever fit in our small memory banks. Having little interest in understanding things outside of what you need to navigate your life seems like dining at a big smorgasbord but only ever having meat, spud, and two veg.
We're typically interested in stuff that’s new. That’s why billions are spent on reporting news, and billions consume it. But individual consumption is often limited to our meat, spud, and two veg, because our curiosity has withered like that pot plant you forgot to water before you went on holiday.
As kids, our interests start focused on the world around us, and as we age, they shrink and turn inward (which the social signaling platforms benefit tremendously from!).
But the weird thing is, I’m not telling you anything that’s not well-known. Which shows knowing does not change behaviour. We are not rational actors. We are our worst enemies.
I have often come away from a conversation where the other person hasn’t asked a single question about me or my views. I’ve done all the asking. Or if they have, it’s just a segway to something else they want to talk about. I’m the only one who’s learned anything - which is fine, but their lack of interest intrigues me.
Just like a varied and nutrient-rich diet leads to healthier bodies, a varied and information-rich diet leads to healthier minds. The precursor is curiosity.
How healthy is your mind?
