On Cultivating Curiousity

There seems to be a lack of curiosity in the world. It seems like people don’t particularly enjoy moments of discovery. It’s as if they don’t want to know the secrets of the universe. Being an extremely curious person myself, I often wonder why this appears to be the case and, if it’s true, how to help those who wish to cultivate their curiosity.

Of course, most people are curious about the things that interest them and many are curious about the things that directly and immediately affect them on some level. Still, this type of curiosity appears a bit limited in both scope and depth. A just enough approach if you will. 

There’s nothing wrong about this, but what of the topics and scenarios that a person may naturally never encounter? What of the different experiences that are not to be, simply because one sticks to their chosen interest rather than branch out into something new? What of the multitude of possibilities and potential knowledge that lay just outside the edges of one’s immediate surroundings?

This is a very broad topic to think about and discuss. One can be curious about anything and everything. There are some people who spend the majority of their time pondering, wondering, questioning, discovering, and so on. By doing this they are actively enriching themselves and potentially others.

Now, there are many people that are perfectly happy with their current level of curiosity and see no need to change. That is certainly a valid view and I don’t wish for them to change. Seriously, there’s nothing wrong with being content in this area. However, this paper is aimed towards helping those who do wish to increase their curiosity.

Questioning 

Asking questions is a base expression of curiosity. You cannot be curious if you don’t ask questions. It doesn’t have to be outwardly expressed either. Many people often question through wondering or daydreaming without realizing it. Lots of people understand that they are questioning on an intellectual level, but still may see it as separate from being curious. 

There are, however, some negative connotations around questioning. Some may see it in the same light as challenging, critiquing, or being disrespectful. Especially during conversation, some people may see being questioned as a personal attack. This can lead to some becoming defensive and potentially shutting down to further discussion of the topic at hand. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t always a baseless accusation. There are many different ways of asking questions. While some may have truly innocent intentions there are those who choose to wield questioning as a weapon to try and break down a person intellectually. Sometimes this can be difficult to recognize and other times it may be quite obvious. Asking questions isn’t the issue here, but rather the tool. Sometimes even with pure intentions, questioning can lead to unwanted attention, the highlighting of a person’s lack of knowledge, or may simply bring to light uncomfortable truths.

Another assumption people tend to make about questioning, and being curious in general, is in regards to the topic’s worth. Some believe that you can, or should, only ask big questions. Those questions that have far reaching consequences for humanity or the universe. They may think that anything less than trying to cure cancer or transform society or prevent war is not special enough to warrant further consideration. Whether through this belief or another, some people just don’t feel like they themselves are smart or important enough to ask questions. Some don’t even believe they have the right to ask questions at all.

Obviously nobody is barred from asking questions. Of course, there are certain topics or areas where one will absolutely need to be more conscientious of how they go about gathering whatever information they seek. On the whole though there is nothing wrong with asking questions and everyone should be encouraged to do so. You should absolutely exercise and grow that little curiosity muscle!

Benefits 

I suppose some may ask about the benefits of being curious, and though it is tempting to point out the irony of this question, I’ll instead just answer as best I can. There are a multitude of upsides to being curious and nearly all congregate around growth. Growth in this context is more than just one’s factual knowledge. It’s also their depth of understanding and their ability to apply information in meaningful ways.

A simple example to illustrate is fire. Most people know what fire is on a factual level. Fire is the byproduct of a chemical reaction. That is a fact. Now, if fire weren’t incredibly important to our society and otherwise a much more niche subject, how many would bother to learn what fire was on a deep level or its multitude of effects and uses? On the surface, if you only learned the mechanics of a fire, you still would not have the deep understanding that comes with interacting or experiencing the phenomenon. 

You may not understand the potential of fire as a tool. You may not be able to empathize with those who have been burned by fire or those who have lost their possessions or loved ones to a fire. This is the context meant when the term growth is used. The ability to go deeper than the factual surface to understand a topic's implications and potential experiences. True curiosity compels one to dive deeper into a subject to learn its intricacies.

There is also the cumulative effect of learning about multiple different subjects. The marriage of information can be truly wonderful. Again, take fire. Knowing what fire can do and how it behaves opens up a world of possible uses. Fire has practical applications in the worlds of culinary arts, science, medicine, history, the entertainment industry, and much more. 

Imagine applying all the various knowledge you currently have to each other. What sort of feats are you capable of just because you have some understanding in two or more areas? Now imagine what may lay just outside of your current understanding of the world. What possibilities have you yet to uncover? Curiosity allows us to ask, “What if,” and the answers can help to inspire invention and further our understanding of the world. 

Habitual Learning

The best way I’ve found to become more curious is to make learning new things a habit. When learning is habitual, your curiosity tends to express itself in a more organic manner. I don’t mean to suggest just taking random classes or researching the most esoteric subjects. One way to practice this is to begin following those micro curiosities one may have during a regular day. I’m talking about those innocuous times throughout the day that one may have when they say or think, “I wonder why/how/if…” 

These are perfect opportunities to reinforce the habit of learning! The subject is right there waiting to be explored. Why do street signs read the way they do? Why do banks operate when the majority of people are at work? How high can a human possibly jump? What would happen if people became immune to radioactivity? Explore those thoughts! See if anyone else has asked, or answered, the same questions. Again, exercise and grow that little curiosity muscle!

Even just finding the limits of your current understanding can help to propel you down a path of new knowledge and information. If need be you could physically write out a list of everything you know. From there you may be able to spot holes in your understanding or see an area that you’ve completely neglected for one reason or another. Those areas are great places to start your journey.

Again, don’t think you have to take classes or any formal direction right off the bat here. A class may help you stick to a subject long enough to get used to studying if you are out of practice, but a class can be restrictive, expensive, and a large time commitment as well. Self directed learning is often just as or more fruitful than the classroom. When you make learning a habit, the payoff is the joy of discovery. Those “Aha!” moments become a source of satisfaction.

Now, if you find that whatever subject you choose is best suited for the classroom then by all means find a class that will cater to your interest. However, if you’ve taken a class on a whim without having much investment in the subject beyond just learning “something,” be prepared to face potential resistance in yourself to finish the class.

If you can make learning a habit then picking up new topics to study starts to become nearly as easy as breathing. You’ll find yourself wondering during any downtime in your life. You’ll continuously be thinking through your current catalog of information and wonder what else can be learned about a subject or potential experiments that may lead to new insights. 

Another great way to increase your curiosity is through your interests. You can use your current interest(s) as a way to find new interests. This can be especially helpful in the case of, typically, surface level interests such as sports or art. A lot of people enjoy these things from a very high level point of view. Just watching sports or going to the theater is fine of course, but what about what may lay just under those surfaces?

Say you enjoy watching basketball. Learning as much as you can about a particular team’s history or the mechanics of the game can be gateways to interesting areas you may never have known about. Basketball, and other sports, have strong ties to the worlds of physics, psychology, history, medicine and so much more. Learning about how these disparate topics interact and influence one another will not only increase your base level of knowledge and understanding, but can also lead you to discovering other interests as well.

Of course, if you’ve done this once you understand that this method of discovery can be applied to anything. So, look at your current interests and study them as you see fit, but also be on the look out for how your interests connect to a wider world. Nothing lives in a vacuum after all. Being curious is a skill like any other. The more you engage in the practice the better you’ll get over time. So, exercise your curiosity and grow as a person!