Site Navigation

Download a zip file of
all pages
for Obsidian or LLMs.

WORK IN PROGRESS:
PAGES NOT YET REVIEWED BY
HUMAN EXPERTS. VERIFY
CLAIMS AND CONSULT
ORIGINAL SOURCES FOR
AUTHORITATIVE INFORMATION.

Contact Peter Kaminski

Edit on GitHub


Tools and Frameworks for Cultivating Curiosity

The conversation surfaced several practical tools and frameworks for developing and sustaining curiosity.

Question Formulation Technique (QFT)

Victoria (Spain) enthusiastically shared:

"Do any of you know about the Question Formulation Technique of the Right Question Institute?"

"I discovered that some years ago and I ALWAYS recommend it. Is such a useful tool!"

Question Formulation Technique

Why QFT Matters

Gabriele G described experiencing "anxiety/poverty to ask question when you have complete freedom" in a Q&A session. The QFT provides structure that paradoxically enables freedom through constraints.

"I appreciate there is a tool to delve deeper to learn how to come around with question 'good' to ask."

Doug Breitbart: "Thanks for this, Victoria. 🙏🏻"

The QFT addresses the meta-problem: How do you learn to formulate good questions?

The 5 Whys

Jerry Michalski shared:

5 Whys Wikipedia entry

This technique from lean manufacturing and systems thinking involves:

Social Container for 5 Whys

John Kelly (via Pete Kaminski):

"I found that if you created a context in which there's a social reason for participating and pursuing a question like the five whys, they'll participate for the social reason, and then down the road, they'll get the benefit in terms of the enrichment of the conversation and the possibility of realizing, 'Oh—we actually discovered something we weren't even looking for.'"

Key insight: Social motivation can bootstrap genuine curiosity.

DSRP Theory

Scott Moehring described it as "the most important and practical thing I've ever learned":

"I think it is the organization and reorganization of information that is the primary space of curiosity."

DSRP Wikipedia

DSRP stands for:

Doug Breitbart provided the Wikipedia link when Kevin Jones asked about it.

The Playing Games Model

Scott Moehring's framework proposing that every interaction is a game with five elements:

  1. Goal - purpose, point, reason for interacting
  2. Rules - what's allowed or not (stated, implied, or customary)
  3. Voluntary - invitation AND acceptance, constantly renegotiated
  4. Uncertain - can't know the outcome for sure
  5. Improve - requires some skill

This helps understand curiosity as a participatory practice both parties must engage in.

Big Five Personality Traits

Scott Moehring introduced this as the "statistically verified model of personality" to understand Openness as a dimension of curiosity:

Big Five Personality Traits Wikipedia

The five traits:

Key insight: Neither high nor low openness is evolutionarily better - both have value in different contexts.

Reflective Questioning (Socratic Method)

Judith Benham's mother's approach:

"As a child, whenever I asked a question, my mom would reply 'what do you think?', which led to expansive discussion."

This builds:

Stacey Druss and Gil Friend reported similar parenting experiences.

"How" vs "Why"

John Kelly observed:

"How is a more neutral version of why"

Practical technique: Asking "how" questions may be:

Multi-Perspectival Humbleness

Scott Moehring added this concept to the Excalidraw board in response to Alex Kladitis's points about belief systems.

The practice of:

Visual Thinking / Excalidraw

Victoria (Spain) and Gabriele G both engaged with visual thinking as a tool for curiosity:

The collaborative Excalidraw whiteboard allowed:

Link to the board: Excalidraw session

Writing as Thinking

LP1 (Louise): "Writing = thinking!"

Victoria (Spain):

"Writing and drawing were the first externalizations of the brain humans practiced, and what enabled our intellectual evolution"

Practical implication: Writing clarifies and deepens curiosity in ways thinking alone doesn't.

Example: Victoria's father spent over a year writing a Wikipedia article on calculation rules - the writing process itself was an act of deep curiosity.

Etymology Study

Gil Friend's practice of exploring word origins as a curiosity tool:

"I'm an etymology geek"

Understanding the Etymology of Curiosity (from Latin "cura" = care) reframes what curiosity is and why it matters.

The Culture Shock Series

Jerry Michalski: "The Culture Shock series were good"

Books that helped people develop cross-cultural curiosity through structured frameworks.

AI as Curiosity Partner

Multiple participants noted AI can:

See AI and Curiosity for full discussion.

What Makes a Good Curiosity Tool?

Based on the conversation, effective tools:

  1. Provide structure without rigidity (like QFT)
  2. Lower barriers to asking (like neutral "how" questions)
  3. Create social safety (like John Kelly's game containers)
  4. Build on natural impulses (like the 5 Whys)
  5. Make thinking visible (like Excalidraw, writing)
  6. Work across cultures (though may need adaptation)
  7. Can be taught relatively easily
  8. Lead to unexpected discoveries

Gaps and Opportunities

Tools we might need but didn't discuss:

Related Concepts

Related Participants

Related Organizations

Pages that link to this page