We start out in life being curious about everything… a child’s favourite question is often “why?” But over time many of us lose our curiosity for some reason. “Why?”, asks my inner child… (I think I'm curious about curiosity!)
As adults, we can tend to feel that we already know all that is necessary. We are the "experts", the "grown-ups" who've been doing the same stuff for years. Admitting that we could learn more about a topic or delving into something new makes us feel vulnerable and inadequate, and who wants to feel that? Two of the greatest factors in shutting down curiosity are thinking we know everything already and having an unchecked ego.
Of course, we never completely lose our curiosity… we just don’t exercise it as much as we age. But that’s something we can change!
What exactly is curiosity anyway?
Curiosity is defined as a strong desire to know or learn something, to acquire knowledge, information, understanding, and skills. It’s considered an emotion as well as a behaviour, an “itch” that needs to be satisfied as well as a driving force behind much of our development as humans, motivating many of our societies' greatest advancements.
While animals also display curiosity as a natural exploratory behaviour when confronted with something unfamiliar, the emotion of desiring knowledge for its own sake is considered uniquely human.
Curiosity improves performance
Increased curiosity as a young toddler predicts better school performance. And being more curious in later years helps to keep your mind sharp as you age… better aging performance, you might say. Lifelong learning, reading, and writing has been shown to slow mental decline by one-third… those who rarely read or write were found to decline 48 percent faster compared to average. "Old age starts where curiosity ends" wrote José Saramago.
For most of us, our curiosity starts to decline as early as age four. When we know a little about a topic, it’s easy to feel like we know it all… essentially, you don’t know how much you don’t know! But the more we learn, the more we realize how much more information there is on any given topic, and the more curious we become.
If you know nothing about a subject, it’s also less interesting because it’s harder to understand and follow new concepts and information you encounter. Our brains like associations… that’s how we remember and understand.
So, the best way to become curious is to keep learning new things. Your brain starts to associate new facts and ideas with ones you learned before, helping you to remember and observe more than you would otherwise. Think of it as having more “hooks” to hang information on, more ideas you can integrate and tie together for more meaning and interest.
Where do you start?
Well, just spending time cruising the internet doesn’t help increase your curiosity or make you smarter, in spite of the wealth of information in the cyber world. It's very easy to spend hours just scanning mundane social media. But, instead, use your internet time to look up information on things that interest you. Dig deeper into subjects that catch your attention, and you just may discover that there’s a lot to learn about the topic.
The internet makes is easy for us to seek out expert opinions. The key is checking your source… who posted it? I’ve used the internet for years to look up scientific studies, often finding the complete original published study, by using Google Scholar (the branch of Google that delves into scientific literature). I’ve found a few newsletters from trusted sources that feed me information regularly, often starting me off on a new tangent that ends up here on my blog. I like to find several sources on the same topic, though, to compare opinions on the subject and expand what I’m learning. One article is never enough!
In the world of health (one of my main interests, being a pharmacist), websites of universities, governments, and large reputable healthcare facilities (like Mayo Clinic) are often my trusted go-to's. In addition to information-packed websites, many universities now offer free online university-level courses that anyone can sign up for, known as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). So, if you really want to become an expert, the information is there for the taking. Your only commitment is your time. But 90% of those who sign up never complete the course. So, it’s not just about access to information, but more about your curiosity, interest, and drive to learn. So, perhaps you'd need to scale up your curiosity before you tackle a MOOC…
An easier way to delve into a subject, is to buy a book or two on it. Nothing like spending a few hours “listening” to someone who was so curious about a subject they learned enough to write an entire book on it! Back in the years I was doing hormone consultations with women, I bought at least a dozen books, and benefitted greatly from the experience and learning of the experts who wrote them, adding to my knowledge base with each one. Eventually I followed their example and wrote my own book, integrating what I’d learned from so many sources with what I’d learned while working with my clients.
Better relationships
Being curious is also one of the best ways to show you’re interested in other people and what’s happening in their lives. Curiosity is a deeply social quality—it shows you care (although one doesn’t want to over-do it and fall into the “nosey” category…).
Neuroscientists have noted that the same part of the brain is activated when curiosity is aroused, as with romantic love. Couples who look for novel and interesting activities were found to be significantly more satisfied with their relationships and to feel more romantically about each other. The brain finds curiosity—and its satisfaction—rewarding at a very basic level.
But one of the best things about developing and satisfying your curiosity, is that you will become a more interesting person. Curiosity is a rabbit-hole where one thing leads to another. You never know where you may end up… and some suggest you may also find that your finances, health, and relationships improve at the same time. Being curious can lead to a better, richer, higher-quality life!
The famous scientist, Richard Feynman, said “everything is interesting if you go into it deeply enough.” He also said, the best way to learn is to explain the subject to someone else in a way it can be easily understood. To give a clear explanation, you need to learn and understand the subject very well. I think that’s what I try to do whenever I write, whether it’s a journal article, book, or this blog! To find things to write about and to write well, I needed to become curious.
So, here’s to finding ways to become more curious and making time to satisfy that curiosity! It’s all about asking questions, when? why? how?, and satisfying your “itch” to find the answers.
What piques your curiosity? Let me know and maybe I’ll become curious about it too…
References and further reading:
This is the Most Fun Way to Make Your Life Awesome—Barking Up the Wrong Tree
Curiosity: Why It Matters, Why We Lose It and How to Get It Back--Forbes
Curiosity—Wikipedia
The 'Why' Behind Asking Why: The Science of Curiosity--Knowledge@Wharton
Old Age Starts Where Curiosity Ends--Exploring your mind
José Saramago--Wikipedia
