CL1

Articles Posted: 19 Links Seeded: 214

Member Since: 10/2008 Last Seen: 5/16/2012

What is curiosity? - Curiosity

Seeded on Mon Feb 20, 2012 8:43 PM EST

Article Source: Discovery.com

science, discovery, critical-thinking, intuition, curiosity, individuals, instincts, political-relevance

Seeded by CL1

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Curiosity can be very good or very bad. It depends what you do with it and for what reason. You cannot live without curiosity, without anticipation, without interrogation. On the other hand, if you use curiosity just for silly things – it can happen – then why go on? ----Elie Wiesel

I Love this question because it seems so blatantly obvious, doesn't it? Of course, we're curious and know what it is! Yet, if we really take a closer look... really think about it... Doesn't much in our lives become 'habit,' ..extremely rote--"repetition without understanding; mechanical routine?" So, how often do we truly use that inherent skill? Not too often, right?! Is that really how we want to live our lives? Having someone else do our thinking for us, and we just accept that is all there is??

I find it very interesting that if you ask different people what curiosity is, you will get just as many different answers as there are people. And just as the author above suggests--curiosity can be bad just as much as good, yet how many of us think of the 'bad' when we entertain thoughts of curiosity?

This subject is indirectly part of my ongoing quest to understand the nature of political thought in man, the differences and why they occur, and most significantly how 'nature' is impacted by the environment..if it is, and if it is a temporary effect that can be altered by a different or progressive environment.

I'm also investigating if 'curiosity' was involved in moving away from tribal mentality, an increased desire for independent thinking, critical thinking, a "reason" for doing things beyond basic instincts and intuitions; in other words...curiosity *might* be the basis of original political thought, moving man in different directions from nature... to science. That is probably pretty much a 'given' in many circles, but my contention is more with which group---liberal or conservative---is best 'served'--pragmatically--by their group's natural curiosity and desire for man's human rights.

But, back to curiosity for now, and what it 'is' for these individuals, as well as for yourself, is what I would like to examine.

Do you relate to any of their answers?

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Public Discussion (30)

CL1

"..on the other hand, if you use curiosity for just silly things... why go on?"

Good point.

3 votes

#1 - Mon Feb 20, 2012 8:46 PM EST

ambivalent

Today I heard and then looked and saw a mourning dove very high in a tree. The sound it made, so rich and deep, made me wonder what it is with this bird, and then other birds, in their physiognomies that makes, for example, the crow sound so different from the warbler, and then the dove. The dove sounds like it's voice is a wind instrument from the Andes. These things make me wonder and want to know the answers. I guess that is a type of curiosity. Sometimes, the answer lies in the question, because the question drives us further, and then we ask more questions. Learning goes on forever if you have curiosity.

3 votes

#2 - Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:21 PM EST

CL1

Yes, I like how you point out that using curiosity, wondering what it means, why it happens, as well as looking at the different forms...all as attempts to construe significance that can lead to asking more questions. What becomes interesting to me, are the individual interpretations of exactly the same thing.

Thank you for being here. I truly enjoy your comments and perspectives!

3 votes

#3 - Mon Feb 20, 2012 11:08 PM EST

Penn-2066334

Sometimes, the answer lies in the question

There is more truth in the question then in the answer.

3 votes

#4 - Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:45 PM EST

CL1

As I stated above, we tend to approach this subject from the positive; that being inquisitive is always good, and it usually is. It's usally associated with learning something new. From a societal approach, especially in societies where repression/oppression are the norm, then that 'inquision' could be for a different reason. Reasoning seems key, "It depends what you do with it and for what reason."

3 votes

#4.1 - Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:57 PM EST

Penn-2066334

Although you pointed out reasoning, I am more inclined to consider motivation/inspiration key. So what do you think came first reasoning or inspiration? Sort of like the chicken and the egg?

1 vote

#4.2 - Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:13 PM EST

CL1

In my mind, I would be using the words 'reasoning and inspiration' in the same context...something inspired (motivated) the reason to inquire.

(oops, above, 4.1, I meant to say "inquisition") ..I seem to have a lot of letters always being left out..weird.

3 votes

#4.3 - Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:20 PM EST

Penn-2066334

In my mind, I would be using the words 'reasoning and inspiration' in the same context

In consideration to such a unity, the devils advocate-always objecting-asked, do we think we are hungry, or do we feel hungry?

Hummm? Well, I am not hungry when I'm out cold asleep, and an empty stomach certainly inspires hunger? Gee, seems to be a even, but hunger seems to be far from curiosity, or is it?

What if we were born with all the answers, and our curiosity,... oriented towards finding the questions? Rather than uncertainty seeking certainty....the other way around? Nah, such a thing would be like time flowing backwards. I know this is probably way out there, but curiosity has the characteristics of being directional. And perhaps like time, somehow tied in with the 2 nd law of Thermal D. But as far as hunger, it represents an absence and consequential hunger for knowledge, and the progression does not appear reversible.

All I know is that I am the part of the universe that is asking the questions.

1 vote

#4.4 - Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:04 PM EST

CL1

but curiosity has the characteristics of being directional

Yes. That's part of my study.

I'm trying to discover where curiosity fits into a need for different political perspectives. There are many on the Vine that are always trying to essentially say we are all basicly the same, that the two parties are contrived, that we should be indeps and middle-of-the-roaders, etc. My quest is to discover if that isn't true; if we 'evolved' from tribal thinking for a 'reason,' and if that reason is still in a process of evolution, thus we might need more parties--not middle of the road--but extensions or versions of the two we have.

Additionally, I wonder if the initial curiosity, assuming it led to natural selection of increased cognition, altered the 'reason' (need) for the increased awareness of differing political thought (individualist vs. collectivist).

By that, I mean, the answers to these questions might help us all understand ourselves better, might lead to increased respect for our differing political beliefs, and it could lead to changes within our system, if we discovered that curiosity and reasoning are what would help us turn out better leaders. I feel our hierarchy are already using the intelligence of 'curiosity and reasoning' to improve their lives...the populace needs to discover how to do the same, imo.

This is what prompted me to write and seed the article.

2 votes

#4.5 - Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:30 AM EST

Penn-2066334

I'm trying to discover where curiosity fits into a need for different political perspectives.

Some more questions....

Curiosity, as is there a better philosophy to promote unity, better quality of life, equality, etc.?

There are many on the Vine that are always trying to essentially say we are all basically the same

Fundamentally, we are, but beyond the essentials, there are far more differences, which seems to render the fundamental equalities quite negligible. From the biological survival stand point, we are genetically geared for diversity; in this respect it is our strength. However, at the social level, differences seem to inspire stress. Nevertheless, these difference (often petty) seem to be readily set aside when a group of people are faced with something that challenges the relative well being of all in the group. Has something to do with priority-survival being the greatest of all priorities.

Bottom line, I would have to say we are each a political party unto ourselves, but will make concessions based upon what we prioritize. These said priorities are founded on motivations, which seek to maintain an acceptable level of contentment (real or not). One could associate the lack of contentment with a form of hunger, and in this way consider this relativity in terms of curiosity (i.e. curiosity, being the result a lack of contentment in the realm of revelation/answers/certainty, which in turn inspires a feeling of security?).

My quest is to discover if that isn't true; if we 'evolved' from tribal thinking for a 'reason,' and if that reason is still in a process of evolution, thus we might need more parties--not middle of the road--but extensions or versions of the two we have.

I don't think we humans could have survived as long as we have without civilization. Moreover, I think as mammals, we require some form of family arrangements (i.e. mother, father, etc.), which seems to be a microcosm of the larger groups we grow into latter in life. My line of reasoning seems to once again end with the pursuit of contentment. A baby cries for contentment based upon a priority that has not been secured and has created an emotional, logical, or physical deficiency. I think the same is true when we vote. For all intents and purposes, our government has authority that directly effects our contentment, as did our parents. The difference being, we don't choose our parents.

if we discovered that curiosity and reasoning are what would help us turn out better leaders.

Humm? Well, having to follow through with everything above, what makes a good parent? Certainly our parents got some degree of contentment from the whole affair of raising us, but self sacrifice (altruism) is the one thing that seems to stand out. Is this a survival instinct?

2 votes

#4.6 - Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:24 AM EST

CL1

Tracker problems are driving me crazy!

That was a nice comment, Penn. Thank you.

You touched on my primary issue of the two mindsets (individualist vs. collectivist), and how they play-out in how we live our lives, our values and our goals, as a community and as individuals (or small units). We seem to have less inquiry, and differing goals and I wonder why. There are many facets to this investigation.

1 vote

#4.7 - Fri Feb 24, 2012 5:52 AM EST

Socrates1

An interesting subject....

On balance, I believe curiosity to be a good thing..as evidenced by the curiosity which caused you to bring the topic up.

In terms of your "multi-party" approach, a possible problem is that may produce even more divisiveness.

#4.8 - Sat Mar 17, 2012 4:52 PM EDT

CL1

Bottom line, I would have to say we are each a political party unto ourselves,

That was Penn's comment. Just making sure you knew, and you probably did.

*****

#4.9 - Sat Mar 17, 2012 5:37 PM EDT

Socrates1

Party of one?

#4.10 - Sat Mar 17, 2012 6:49 PM EDT

J. Lemert Whitmer

Interesting article. I enjoyed it.

In our curiosity, we, in our times, try to measure its. pertinence. When someone expresses their curiosity about a phenomena they have observed, we often will respond with innocent sounding phrases such as, "What difference does it make?" or "Is it worth looking into?". Isn't there a awesome subjective value to wanting to explore, if for no other reason, just to see what we can find?

I think this is one of the biggest issues surrounding space exploration. Humans always benefit from finding new things. It's thrilling! It's exciting, It's dangerous. It's exhilarating. To me these experiences far outweigh the 'profit margin.' It also helps us avoid evil.

2 votes

#5 - Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:54 AM EST

CL1

Thank you for reading and commenting!

I agree those questions need to be asked. I find the human reaction to another's curiosity vs. their own curiosity to be very interesting. When the motivational factors are different, so are the reactions. My personal assessment of that is whether the two interlocutors are of the same cognition/lateralization, thus their reason or motivation for inquiry is going to be different. i.e., A collectivist mindset is not going to "care" what motivates inquiry for individualist success, because their is no motivation for inquiry for the collectivist to 'learn' that information. Likewise, the individualist is not going to "care" what motivates the collectivist mindset for group success. As Penn points out, "curiosity" becomes "directional." Realizing that, we can then see the patterns in human curiosity, we accept some things in our lives...we question others. ...And, I very much agree that questioning the "motivations" of others, and learning of new things, can certainly help us avoid "evil."

2 votes

#5.1 - Wed Feb 22, 2012 11:14 AM EST

J. Lemert Whitmer

Of course one influencing stimuli discouraging human curiosity is what I call the "Pandora Effect." Often, when humans, or, for that matter any creature pushes their senses into a new, untested, environment, unforeseen events can be triggered which can cause much suffering and loss.

ie. My dog has a scar on her nose resulting from sticking it into an occupied burrow when she was a puppy. She found that her nose was not welcome. The results were rather disastrous from her point of view.

2 votes

#6 - Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:44 AM EST

CL1

Thank you for stopping by again. ...Ouch! :)

2 votes

#6.1 - Fri Feb 24, 2012 5:53 AM EST

Infohack

I'm sorry I missed this earlier, interesting topic.

By the way, are you aware that your column doesn't have an "add to watchlist" link, CL?

Is that really how we want to live our lives? Having someone else do our thinking for us, and we just accept that is all there is??

I am cursed with a need to know how everything works. I'm sure it was annoying for my parents that I would take everything apart to find out how it works. Fortunately I was also good at putting it back together again. This has led to knowing a little bit about how most things work. But also into some areas of interest of questionable legality, like an interest in a subject that can be inferred from my username.

Not that I ever actually did anything illegal ;) But nevertheless curiosity drove me to the need to learn how it is done.

I'm also familiar with the darker side of curiosity. Dungeons and Dragons in the fourth and fifth grade led to an interest in medieval weaponry. A fifth grader discovering graphic accounts of heads on pikes, trebuchets filled with human corpses, and the preferred torture techniques of Spanish Inquisitors in the non-fiction aisles of the local library, tends to lead to uncomfortable realizations about the cruelty mankind is capable of committing at too early an age.

Unfortunately not much I've learned since has done much to dispel that notion.

1 vote

#7 - Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:07 PM EST

CL1

Thank you for stopping by, infohack

I'm sorry about my lack of a watchlist button. When my account was added to the current version of the beta format in early 2010, the feature must have been accidentally removed (atleast, I hope it was an accident!). It's interesting how I've had a few say they have me watchlisted. lol ..They must have 'special' powers. :)

I should have put in a bug report. I might be losing readership due to the lack of that feature.

Your gift of curiosity is a curious one, imo, because I've wondered if that is more of an innate intelligence, rather than just a general curiosity to understand things we perceive.

By that, I'm inferencing the left-right brain lateralization theories. For example, I consider myself a very curious person, but not for knowledge of the physical mechanism relating to their tangible parts, rather, I'm curious about the philosophical principle of mechanism.

I've always thought if one can gain a solid reasoning behind those principles, then it might lead to an understanding of an explicable nature of their polar opposite.

Funny about Dungeons and Dragons. I'm a few years ahead of you, as I think that came out when I was in my late teens or early twenties, I think. I knew of it, but I didn't play. It would certainly seem to be an influence on a young, curious mind... and an eye-opener as you point out. Man's motivational morality has always been something of interest to me.

2 votes

#7.1 - Tue Feb 28, 2012 4:38 PM EST

Infohack

I consider myself a very curious person, but not for knowledge of the physical mechanism relating to their tangible parts, rather, I'm curious about the philosophical principle of mechanism.

I never really gave it much thought, but even as the target of my curiosity has evolved from the strictly physical (mechanical and electronic) to more abstract (social and political systems), I still approach it from the standpoint of "how do all these different parts interact." Maybe it's the result of visual right-brain thinking.

Funny about Dungeons and Dragons...It would certainly seem to be an influence on a young, curious mind.

Don't get me wrong, I don't blame D & D any more than I think video games are directly responsible for violence. Both are fantasy and I had no trouble making that distinction. It's the descriptions of real-world, historical violence that I found disturbing, especially with a young imagination to fill in the blanks.

Parents do have a responsibility to filter what their kids are exposed to, but in fairness, I don't think my mom thought I could get in too much trouble poring through the non-fiction stacks at the local library. But I was already testing at a 12th grade reading level by then.

I turned out OK, I'm not an axe-murderer or anything ;) Just maybe a little more cynical than some about human nature, or at least that cynicism started at a very early age.

1 vote

#7.2 - Tue Feb 28, 2012 5:36 PM EST

CL1

I still approach it from the standpoint of "how do all these different parts interact." Maybe it's the result of visual right-brain thinking.

Yep, ..my thoughts, too.

No worries, I didn't take your gaming experiences to be implicating a cross-over from fantasy to reality. Admittedly, I have wondered if there could be a correlation with increased violent behavior, but then that's *partly* my premise with this article---to discover how much the environment affects/alters, if it does, our innate tendencies.

It's the descriptions of real-world, historical violence that I found disturbing, especially with a young imagination to fill in the blanks.

Me too. Real war, not the fake wars we have now, but 'real' intention to kill other human beings for the simple reason of hate, prejudice and bigotry are very disturbing. Manifest Destiny was certainly part of that, but I'm referring to a different motive, as we see in the ME, for example. Many just want to write it off to religion.. as if that alone creates the only boogeyman. We also assume/speculate that those behaviorial beliefs for aggression and war are based on politics and 'power.' So, yes, there is motivation for the behaviors and beliefs...but I'm trying to see if any part of that is innate (left-right brain)..or if it is all just environmental influence.

Thank you for the discussion. ☺

2 votes

#7.3 - Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:49 PM EST

CL1

Infohack... It appears my watchlist request is in the blue "Follow Cl1" --lol

1 vote

#7.4 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:21 AM EST

Infohack

Oh...I didn't even see that. That's much cooler-looking than mine, I'm jealous.

Thank you for the discussion. ☺

No, thank you. I really enjoy your thought and discussion-provoking topics. :)

1 vote

#7.5 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 1:13 AM EST

CL1

Thank you! That is very nice of you to say.

I've spent a lot of time reading drama, and several other articles, so I guess I'm feeling a bit side-tracked, maybe even a little sad and disappointed. It must be time for a break.

Have a good nite!

1 vote

#7.6 - Wed Feb 29, 2012 1:35 AM EST

J. Lemert Whitmer

I came across this quote today while getting caught up with my daily quotes. There is more about Dr. Pauling on my column and on Notes of Thought for anyone who needs to get caught up on who this guy is.

“Satisfaction of one's curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life.” ~ Dr. Linus Pauling

1 vote

#8 - Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:33 PM EST

CL1

Thank you! I like that. We are continually motivated until that particular curiosity seems satisfied, yet, because nothing is static, our inquiry for that particular entity/subject or 'being' would seem to be endless. We would always gain continual information of the parts, but would we ever know the 'whole'...

Thank you. I will look in a bit later.

1 vote

#8.1 - Tue Feb 28, 2012 7:07 PM EST

Master Link

Hey CL1,

I'm mainly curious where my friend CL1 is?

I haven't seen a new post from you in awhile, and I haven't seen you around on the boards. Is everything good with you?

Anyway I miss our dialogs, I hope we can have another exchange soon.

Your friend, Master Link

1 vote

#9 - Sun Mar 4, 2012 4:34 AM EST

CL1

Oh, that was very thoughtful, ML. Thank you. A few issues have me in a quandary, lately, trying to figure out why and what's going on--- understand them.

I always enjoy your comments, and I will look for them and your articles in the future when I am less distracted. Thank you, again, for inquiring! That was very flattering and appreciated. ☺

1 vote

#9.1 - Sun Mar 4, 2012 3:05 PM EST

Master Link

I'm glad to hear things are good, take your time,

I have to step back once in awhile to recharge my social conscience batteries, or whatever else is causing me issues.

Your friend, Master Link

#9.2 - Sun Mar 4, 2012 4:34 PM EST

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What is curiosity? - Curiosity

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