Curious Suzi Speaks

I've been coming across the topic of curiosity a lot recently. I'm a curious person, and if a topic continues to pop up in my thoughts, I tend to turn in its direction. It's a reflex. And how appropriate that my thoughts should be, in this, my first blog as Curious Suzi, turned to the subject of—you guessed it—curiosity.

Theoretical Physicist Brian Cox proposed to the June 2010 TED conference that curiosity-driven science is a worthwhile investment for governments. He argued that not only do curious explorers supply us with things of fascination and beauty (images of the cosmos), they also supply us with discoveries that fuel our economies (semi-conductors) and keep us healthy (modern medicines). I've always taken for granted that science drives progress, but I've never given thought to what drives scientists. And I certainly never thought I had anything in common with them.

Dictionary.com describes curiosity as "the desire to learn or know about anything." Curious that it says "anything" rather than "something." I believe this implies that no prerequisite topic need exist for curiosity to flourish. Some scientists spend their lives searching for an answer to a single something. That level of commitment is admirable, but hard to duplicate. For one thing, it's challenging to fund such expeditions. But being curious about several things each and every day is free.

I'm curious about lots of things each day. And I realize that as a writer, I too get paid to be curious. I don't just write a user guide, I get curious about how the user interacts with the system. I've never just revise my work, I curiously play with alternate ways to say things. I get paid to be an explorer. I never just write an interview, I explore different angles of a subject's perspective and personality. Curiosity fuels my inner artist. With camera in hand, I'm curious about the textures and colors in my own back yard, or in my kitchen cabinets. I'm embracing my curiosity more now than ever. Stay tuned to learn what discoveries I make.

“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” —Albert Einstein