In April 1626, philosopher and scientific method pioneer Francis Bacon was riding his horse through the snow-covered streets of London when a strange question came to his mind. After obtaining one from a nearby home, he began stuffing the bird with snow. In the process, he got chills that soon led to pneumonia and death.
Popularized by the philosopher Thomas Hobbes, this perhaps apocryphal story shows two faces of curiosity. One is a virtue, the other a vice. Curiosity is the engine of science, exploration and discovery, and has played a key role in human success along with intelligence. Curiosity is our personal boon as well, leading us to a passionate and purposeful life. Think of obsessively curious people like Leonardo da Vinci.
But the “lust of the heart,” as Hobbes called curiosity, can be dangerously addictive, such as wasting time on clickbait and fake news, doom-scrolling social media feeds, and jumping off tall objects with a parachute. Chasing extreme experiences turns into vice. , simply because I want to know how they feel. It can end badly. Remember the infamous, now-deceased cat.
In a modern world full of such distractions, it’s good to know how to make the most of your curiosity while avoiding the pitfalls. Recent research on the double-edged nature of curiosity has come to the rescue. Not only has the study revealed many benefits to learning and creativity, but it has also revealed why it leads us astray, and why we …
