Themes Hub
The OGM Curiosity Call explored seven major themes, each representing a significant dimension of the curiosity question. Navigate these themes to understand the breadth and depth of the conversation.
🔍 Core Questions
What Is Curiosity
Defining the phenomenon itself
The fundamental question: What exactly is curiosity? The group explored multiple perspectives - from Scott's "noticing things you didn't have to notice" to Doug's "connection is the underlying ingredient" to Eve's embodied, somatic approach. The conversation revealed curiosity as multifaceted, relational, and deeply connected to care.
Key insights: Curiosity involves noticing → exploring → connecting. It's both cognitive and somatic, individual and cultural, innate and learned.
Why Is Curiosity Important
The value and purpose of curiosity
Why does curiosity matter? Participants connected it to human flourishing, innovation, connection, learning, and meaning-making. Victoria asked: "Can you be curious when everyone says there is no future?"
Key insights: Curiosity drives discovery, builds relationships, creates understanding, and makes life meaningful.
Is Curiosity Declining
Evidence, pushback, and alternatives
Jerry's opening premise that sparked the conversation. Kevin immediately pushed back: "I completely disagree." Louise offered 40 years of teaching evidence. The group explored whether we're seeing decline, transformation, or simply cultural mismatch.
Key insights: Complex picture - attention spans may be declining, but curiosity may be shifting rather than disappearing. Selection bias matters. Different manifestations across generations and cultures.
🌍 Dimensions and Contexts
Cultural Dimensions of Curiosity
How culture shapes curiosity expression
Curiosity manifests differently across cultures. Pete shared about Japanese 探求心 (tankyūshin), Victoria discussed European vs American AI perspectives, Louise represented French educational directness, and Klaus shared observations about Hong Kong culture shock.
Key insights: Curiosity is balanced with cultural values like harmony (和), humility (謙虚), and consideration (配慮). Privacy norms and social etiquette shape what questions are acceptable.
Education and Curiosity
How schools kill or cultivate curiosity
The most emotionally charged theme. Louise: "Students can't pay attention for more than 30 seconds anymore." John Kelly worked with "militantly uncurious students." The group explored calculator dependency, anxiety about being wrong, and teaching that answers instead of questioning.
Key insights: Current education often suppresses curiosity. Calculator dependency symbolizes not wanting to try. Fear of being wrong freezes students. Writing = thinking.
Curiosity as Social Practice
Pete's breakthrough insight on learned skills
Pete's revelation: "I learned from Johanne, my wife, to be able to be curious and have a conversation with somebody." This reframed curiosity from innate trait to teachable social skill - with profound implications for gender, power, and cultivation.
Key insights: Social curiosity is learned, not innate. Often falls to women as "emotional labor." Can be taught quickly. Helps everybody, not just the person being questioned.
🤖 Contemporary Challenges
AI and Curiosity
Tool as crutch vs mind-bicycle
How does AI affect curiosity? ChatGPT was simultaneously praised (helps with comprehension, patient with rephrasing) and critiqued (enables intellectual laziness, creates dependency). Pete shared Washington Post analysis of 47,000 ChatGPT conversations. Scott brought up the ELIZA effect.
Key insights: AI can enhance or diminish curiosity depending on how it's used. Students use it to avoid work they don't believe in. Can help medical self-advocacy. European perspectives often ignored by AI systems.
Tools and Frameworks for Cultivating Curiosity
Methodologies and practices
The group shared specific tools: Question Formulation Technique (Victoria's passionate recommendation), 5 Whys, DSRP Theory (Scott's favorite), Playing Games Model, and Socratic Method. Victoria's Greek mythology seminar story showed QFT's transformative power.
Key insights: Structure enables freedom. The four rules for producing questions. Social containers matter more than individual motivation. Games and rituals can bootstrap curiosity.
Cross-Cutting Themes
Several important themes wove through multiple discussions:
- Noticing and Attention - Stacey's foundational insight that noticing must precede curiosity
- Gender and Curiosity - How gendered socialization shapes who asks whom what
- Power Dynamics - Questions from those with power can feel like interrogation
- Fear and Self-Preservation - Avoiding pain more than seeking pleasure
- Genuine vs Performative Curiosity - Stacey: "When it's not genuine, it can be really annoying"
Navigation
By Participant:
- Participants Hub - Meet all 16 contributors
By Framework:
- Frameworks Hub - Tools and methodologies
By Name:
- Alphabetical Index - Find pages A-Z
Back to:
- README - Home page
- Concept Index - Complete index