Are We Curious Enough?

I attended a funeral. Since we arrived a few hours earlier, only a few were preparing for the service about to be held. Among those people, an organist was preparing the pipe organ for the service. I have never seen a pipe organ before, so I was watching him play the pipe organ. My husband asked the organist if he could show the mechanism of the pipe organ. He showed me how the pipe organ worked, and he played us some music pieces from Bach and Scarlatti. After some talks, he asked me whether I wanted to play the harpsichord. So, I got to play the harpsichord. I played Bach’s Partita. The feel of the harpsichord was different from that of a piano. At the midway point, depressing a key, I feel a little pressure against my finger. I had to smear my finger against keys to make a pretty sound. Soon I realized, I had to curl my fingers more to play on the harpsichord. Suddenly, I understood why my piano teacher made me curl my fingers to play Bach or Scarlatti. This experience will undoubtedly impact my future piano practice.

I was excited about this experience; at the same time, it made me wonder how many potentially great experiences I have missed. It was my husband who asked the organist to show us the pipe organ. Despite my curiosity toward the instrument, I hesitated. Am I not curious enough to ask anymore?

Generally, many kids are curious. My nephew and nieces ask me many questions or try to copy what I do. My nephew and niece got to play with the harpsichord without any hesitation because they asked us whether they could also play. I remember being curious about everything when I was young. I used to climb a tree to see the view from the tree. I worked so hard to figure out how to catch crayfish or insects only with the available tools. One day, my friends and I followed around city workers who were maintenance sewer utility holes. The city workers explained to us why they need to perform maintenance. I don’t remember details, but I was excited about our little job shadowing. I was curious, too. As I get old, I become more hesitant to ask people about anything resulting in missing meaningful experiences.

I think we hesitate to ask other people despite being curious because sometimes we get into trouble for it. Or we feel shy to ask such silly questions. I still remember how scared my parents got when I dipped my finger into a hot spring near some volcanic mountains. I remember being screamed at by a pilot when I was trying to hear what it was mumbling. The pilot called so hard directly to my ear that I felt as if my eardrum broken. I also got trouble for asking too many questions to my elementary school teacher. In our science class, I asked my teacher was showing the frog eggs on the tree above the water. So, I asked her how the frog knows where to lay eggs. My questions caused other students to guess the answer, so I interrupted the class. Then, we learned some unspoken rules as we grew, such as not asking too personal questions. Over time, we become shy to ask questions because we can cause trouble to others. I was afraid to be perceived as a dimwit. Some actions driven by curiosity led to injury or painful experiences. Our interest does not always necessarily result in a good experience or result. But I think I may be losing great opportunities because I am too hesitant to ask.

I read few mythologies presenting negative connotations toward being curious such as Pandora’s Box. We even have a proverb, “Curiosity killed the cat.” However, modern psychology views curiosity as a drive that results in positive results like success or learning.

Despite the interests showed by some historical psychologists such as James, Pavlov, and Skinner, scientists have not been investigating the mystery until recently. We refer to curiosity as a broader category of information-seeking. According to the Oxford university definition, curiosity is a strong desire to know about something (Oxford Dictionary, n.d.). Non-human animals also show curiosity. My cat always investigates new items we bring into the house. Psychologists such as Daniel Berlyne explained (as cited in Kidd & Hayden, 2015) the dimension of curiosity as perceptual versus epistemic and specific versus divertive. Perceptual curiosity is the driving force seeking out novel stimuli, while epistemic curiosity is the driving force for seeking knowledge. Some modern psychologists have created additional dimensions based on why people or non-human animals seek knowledge (p. 3). I think the intensity of the curiosity is more significant when there is a greater information gap.

As I gained insight by playing the harpsichord, there is a benefit for being curious, especially with the capacity to use the information we gain by investigating. George Loewenstein (as cited in Kidd & Hayden, 2015) defined curiosity as a cognitive induced deprivation from our perception in knowledge gap (p. 4). Some info-seeking activity requires some period of learning; therefore, we do not see the benefits immediately. So, the intensity of curiosity matters for learning. As we acquire the knowledge, we gain satisfaction resulting from declining our curiosity about a particular subject. At a glance, It seems the amount of knowledge and intensity have an inverse relationship. I started to realize it is not the case. The more I read or learn, discover more things I want to know. I even feel that I am more curious than when I was 20.

Aside from learning, research suggests that curiosity could make us more successful and even prolong our life. Ian Robertson, professor of psychology, explained (as cited in Freyne, Jul 24, 2013) that intellectually curious people achieve more in life and tend to live longer. They do not know why intellectually curious people live longer, but they hypothesized that repeated infusion of noradrenaline provides protective effects to the brain structure. It also fosters plasticity in the brain (Para. 11-12). Since I understand the function of noradrenalin as a hormone that makes us excited (stressful), maybe it helps us maintain healthy cognitive functions. I think it is the internal drives that keep curious people live longer. When people are intellectually curious, they develop the purpose to live.

I always thought I was curious because I read and researched various topics; however, you cannot learn everything from just reading. Interacting with other people gain insight. Physical experience can lead to different levels of learning. This incident with the pipe organ and the harpsichord made me rethink my curiosity. As I was talking to the organist, I sensed he enjoyed introducing us to the pipe organ. I felt his joy in playing the music pieces for us. I gained a meaningful experience, which will enhance my learning of baroque music. Sometimes, I am too shy to talk to people despite my curiosity to miss out on great learning opportunities. Occasionally, we may need a little courage to ask a silly question.

References

Freyne, Patric. (July 24, 2013). Curiouser and curiouser: the key to health and happiness?https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/curiouser-and-curiouser-the-key-to-health-and-happiness-1.1472714

Kidd, C., & Hayden, B. Y. (2015). The psychology and neuroscience of curiosity. Neuron, 88(3), 449–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.010

Oxford Dictionary. (n.d.). Curiosity.https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/curiosity?q=curiosity