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Is Curiosity Declining?

The initiating question for the call: Are we experiencing a decline in curiosity, particularly among younger generations?

The Premise

Victoria (Spain) framed it:

"The premise is 'I'm observing a decline in curiosity'"

Jerry Michalski noted:

"The question started as, hey, uh, kids in school seem incurious, things like that are happening. Like, are we losing curiosity?"

He'd read "a few too many stories about how incurious recent graduates seem to be when they come into work."

Immediate Pushback

Kevin Jones disagreed with the premise:

"I am not seeing a decline"

Pete Kaminski offered a nuanced view:

"I see declines in curiosity, but I think I also see increases in curiosity, too. So, I think it changes the landscape. It keeps changing."

Selection Bias

Jerry Michalski acknowledged:

"In general, we have a selection bias problem here. I think everybody in this room is, like, really, really curious, and probably hangs out with really curious people."

Scott Moehring agreed:

"This room attracts those kinds of people... I tend to agree that it's not... I haven't seen a sea change in that."

Evidence of Incuriosity

Gil's Observations

Gil Friend shared multiple stories:

  1. Networking conversations where younger people ask no questions back
  2. A three-hour visit with a 55-year-old friend who asked nothing about Gil or his wife Jane
  3. A junior engineer who failed to ask obvious follow-up questions during site assessment

However, Gil noted his second story challenged his own assumption that incuriosity is generational.

Victoria's Son's Observations

Victoria (Spain):

"My son, age 30, has been telling me how uncurious and unengaged his university students are getting every year."

Alternative Explanations

Finely Tuned BS Meters

Scott Moehring:

"Could it be that their BS meter is more finely tuned? That they realize that most of the things that they are being asked to be curious about are being decided by other people?"

Kevin Jones: "Exactly. From boomers and the like."

This reframes apparent incuriosity as selective skepticism and appropriate boundary-setting.

Different, Not Absent

LP1 (Louise):

"Absolutely, it's a very different world if you're a teenager today. I can't imagine what it is like for them."

"They're involved in another world online."

No Future = No Curiosity?

Victoria (Spain) asked:

"Can you be curious when everyone says there is no future?"

This raises whether generational despair about climate change, economic prospects, etc. might dampen curiosity.

Students and Meaningless Work

Victoria (Spain):

"Students can't be expected to put work on work they don't believe in. That's precisely what AIs are for."

Perhaps students are appropriately uncurious about busywork.

What May Have Changed

Fear of Permanence

Scott Moehring:

"Possibly afraid of saying anything that isn't quite figured out or 'right' because the internet is forever. Exploring ideas out loud can be punished."

Jerry Michalski:

"Maybe we want to leave less of a trace in the world, because its memory is long and its anger unpredictable?"

Identity as Liability

Scott Moehring:

"In a world of screen names and anonymous posting, perhaps someone's country of origin, education, gender, race, religion, age, etc can be a distraction or information to be used for insults, more often than connection."

Education Systems

Multiple participants wondered whether education kills curiosity - see Education and Curiosity.

Cultural Shifts

Questions arose about changes in:

The Real Question

Jerry Michalski:

"Am I judging somebody else not being curious enough? Is this really about connection?"

Perhaps the concern isn't really about curiosity declining but about:

Conclusion

The group reached no consensus on whether curiosity is actually declining. Instead, they identified:

  1. Context matters - curiosity manifests differently in different settings
  2. Selection bias - highly curious people may not see the full picture
  3. Multiple explanations - what looks like incuriosity might be wisdom, fear, or appropriate boundaries
  4. Cultural change - norms around asking questions are shifting

Related Themes

Related Participants

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