Curiosity-Day 20

“The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing.”

Oscar Wilde

Could there be a negative side to curiosity? We are all familiar with the adage, “Curiosity killed the cat.” Sometimes our need to know, might overtake the caution needed in a particular circumstance. 

As much as we may like to travel to new places, in today’s world we need to have done our homework when it comes to general safety. Little reminders like “Safety in numbers” may not be a bad thing to consider. 

Christopher Bergland addresses this very thing in his post “Curiosity-The Good, the Bad and the Double-Edged Sword.”

He sites a study where they have found that some people, “are often driven by an uncontrollable urge to act on their curious tendencies, even when it’s not in their best interest.” This is where you find the thrill-seeker. To be honest, I’ve never quite understood this need or desire to put oneself in harm’s way in order to satisfy a curiosity.

Apparently there is something called “The Pandora Effect” which are people “doing regrettable things that are driven by unbridled curiosity.” Bowen Ruan reiterates that “curiosity can lure humans to seek information with predictably ominous consequences.”

I can’t help but be reminded about an internet challenge from a few years ago where children were asked to wait until their parent returned before eating the cookie placed before them. This was based on actual research using marshmallows as the tempter. The study was longitudinal, and showed that those children who could resist the temptation to eat the marshmallow were generally more successful in life. 

This appeared to be a predictor of delated gratification, something required to accomplish long term goals. Sadly, curiosity, something we generally equate with positivity, may actually have a negative side if not kept in check. 

Hopefully, we can let the wisdom of the ages help guide our choices in our latter years. Knowing this might help us to “modify our behaviors and curb potentially self-destructive pursuits driven by the innate urge to close the curiosity gap.”