Curious

Questions are the best weapons of the weak against the strong, but only because the strong unilaterally disarm.

Diversive curiosity is where the hunt for knowledge begins; in the desire for new information, sensations, experiences and challenges. But it’s only a beginning.

Diversive curiosity can be a strength, leading people to take in more from their environment. But it can quickly become aimless, distracting and frustrating.

von Stumm thinks that curiosity may be the best single predictor of individual success, because it incorporates intelligence, persistence and hunger for novelty in one. People who are genuinely interested in what they’re learning about tend to work harder at understanding

Berlyne had put his finger on a paradoxical attribute of curiosity – it is stimulated by understanding and by the absence of understanding. This tells us something important about the motivation to learn.

you ask what people’s underlying interests are – what do they need – then you’re more likely to get to find an imaginative solution.’ That means asking probing, penetrating questions which force the other party off their prepared script, and encourage them to open up about the pressures on them from their own side. It also means listening intently

The true beauty of learning stuff, including apparently useless stuff, is that it takes us out of ourselves, reminds us that we are part of a far greater project, one that has been underway for at least as long as human beings have been talking

‘I was suddenly seeing that the world is incredibly interesting. If you’re paying attention, everything in the world – from the nature of gravity, to a pigeon’s head, to a blade of grass – is extraordinary.’

According to McKee, every scene in a movie should be a Turning Point: ‘Each Turning Point hooks curiosity. The audience wonders, What will happen next?, and How will it turn out?’*