Curiosity-Day 5

 

“If I know what I shall find, I do not want to find it. Uncertainty is the salt of life.”

Erwin Chargaff

Sky Ariella writes in the article The Most Important Curiosity Skills, that “Curiosity inspires innovative ideas…”

She lists three things that can enhance curiosity:

First read more books. “Within the pages of a book, there’s a whole world of information and knowledge.” This is always a goal of mine, but as I age I find this goal more challenging. My attention span has shortened (thank you i pad) and I’m lucky to finish one book a month.

Recently I heard about a strategy that allowed for better comprehension. The podcast host said he would order both the Kindle version and the audio version on Amazon. He said together it came to approximately the cost of the physical book alone. This way he read and listened at the same time. Using two modalities kept his attention AND improved his retention of what he read.

Secondly, Ariella recommends analyzing the world around you. She also states not to take what you see and hear at face value. “…don’t just accept things the way they are, you analyze the situation.”

Finally Ariella encourages us to follow our interests. “When something interests you, try to explore it more and see where it takes you.” This is exactly what I’ve done with the topic of curiosity.  Over the years I’ve focused on creativity, but after reflecting more on my own life I realized that I led more with curiosity. This sometimes resulted in creativity, but more times than not it scratched the itch of something that had been on my mind. 

Ariella continues with the following questions to kick start our curiosity:

What do you like to do for fun?

When was the last time you learned something new? 

Have you taught yourself any skills?

These three questions alone should get the curiosity juices flowing. It certainly has got me thinking.