(For a background behind this series and references/sources used, please view the first article of this series at: https://nitnblogs.blogspot.com/2019/01/series-of-posts-on-psychology-of-human.html)
In advanced human civilization, culture greatly increases the effectiveness of curiosity in advancing knowledge.
For instance, Athens (including its colony, Alexandria) developed much math and science out of pure curiosity while the Romans made almost no contribution to either math or science. They instead concentrated their attention on the 'practical' engineering of mines, roads, aqueducts, etc.
Curiosity, enhanced by the best of modern education (which is by definition a minority part in many places) much helps man to prevent or reduce bad consequences arising from other psychological tendencies. The curious are also provided with much fun and wisdom long after formal education has ended.
My Notes:
Charlie has only positive things to say about curiosity, there have to be some negatives associated with it as well which I think he has declined to include for reasons best known to him. Generally speaking curiosity is beneficial for man. In the book ‘Sapiens’, Yuval Noah Harari has suggested that one of the main reasons why Europeans were able to colonize the Americas, Asia and Australia is that they were culturally more curious. “Even puny European kingdoms such as Scotland and Denmark sent a few explore-and-conquer expeditions to America, but not one expedition of either exploration or conquest was ever sent to America from the Islamic world, India or China” (Harari). In contrast the Indian and Chinese empires (in spite of being way more resourceful and powerful than the Europeans) were of the firm belief that their culture and system were inherently superior and never bothered to venture beyond their shores, thus limiting their empires and knowledge. This lead to Europeans investing resources in science and in exploration of foreign lands, entering a feedback loop fueled by curiosity, which over a period of time built up their dominance over the world.
In old age it is of particular help to be curious - it helps you learn new things and also unlearn when you come across new data. There is a common idea that once school is over the learning stops as well. It is actually quite tragic. Reading and learning new things is an indicator of a curious mind.
Examples:
In advanced human civilization, culture greatly increases the effectiveness of curiosity in advancing knowledge.
For instance, Athens (including its colony, Alexandria) developed much math and science out of pure curiosity while the Romans made almost no contribution to either math or science. They instead concentrated their attention on the 'practical' engineering of mines, roads, aqueducts, etc.
Curiosity, enhanced by the best of modern education (which is by definition a minority part in many places) much helps man to prevent or reduce bad consequences arising from other psychological tendencies. The curious are also provided with much fun and wisdom long after formal education has ended.
My Notes:
Charlie has only positive things to say about curiosity, there have to be some negatives associated with it as well which I think he has declined to include for reasons best known to him. Generally speaking curiosity is beneficial for man. In the book ‘Sapiens’, Yuval Noah Harari has suggested that one of the main reasons why Europeans were able to colonize the Americas, Asia and Australia is that they were culturally more curious. “Even puny European kingdoms such as Scotland and Denmark sent a few explore-and-conquer expeditions to America, but not one expedition of either exploration or conquest was ever sent to America from the Islamic world, India or China” (Harari). In contrast the Indian and Chinese empires (in spite of being way more resourceful and powerful than the Europeans) were of the firm belief that their culture and system were inherently superior and never bothered to venture beyond their shores, thus limiting their empires and knowledge. This lead to Europeans investing resources in science and in exploration of foreign lands, entering a feedback loop fueled by curiosity, which over a period of time built up their dominance over the world.
In old age it is of particular help to be curious - it helps you learn new things and also unlearn when you come across new data. There is a common idea that once school is over the learning stops as well. It is actually quite tragic. Reading and learning new things is an indicator of a curious mind.
Examples:
- As an entrepreneur, this tendency leads to product market fit by understanding customers better and iterating initial version of your product. (Marc – means it is rewarding)
- The lack of curiosity in corporations can often result in disastrous results. Companies need to keep an open mind about how changes in environment could affect operations (ValueResearch) => Companies that are curious about how people use their products invariably end up doing better than ones who don’t. (corollary)
- Investing: Rather than looking out for the next hot stock, researching a stock with a curious mind is likely to produce better results. You won't be vulnerable to any bad tips or stocks that your broker tells you (ValueResearch). Also digging into companies, understanding competitive advantages, valuations, market conditions, trends and progress - all require a curious nature to uncover.
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