Openness
Note: This topic was mentioned during the call but not discussed in depth.
Openness is one of the Big Five Personality Traits and is most directly related to curiosity.
As Personality Dimension
From Scott Moehring's explanation:
"Openness is one of the five dimensions... people who tend to be creative, interested in intellectual pursuits, open to new things and new ways, curious."
High openness includes:
- Curiosity
- Creativity
- Intellectual interest
- Appreciation for new experiences
- Abstract thinking
- Imagination
The Spectrum
Scott emphasized:
"Neither end of the spectrum is evolutionarily better, which is why we have the spectrum. Sometimes you need to be less open. And you need to be more literal, or more practical, or more tradition, or history, or ritual."
Both high and low openness serve purposes:
- High openness - innovation, adaptation, exploration
- Low openness - tradition, stability, proven methods
Selection Bias
The OGM group likely skews high in openness:
"This room attracts those kinds of people."
This creates selection bias in observing curiosity - highly open people see others as less curious because they're at different points on the spectrum.
Not Better or Worse
Key insight: Openness isn't "better" - it's context-dependent:
- Exploring unknown territory → high openness helps
- Executing known procedures → low openness helps
- Creating new solutions → high openness helps
- Preserving traditions → low openness helps