Have you ever wondered why you are so curious?
Or why we, humans in general, are so curious?
That is what a recent piece of research aimed to answer.
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Hardwired for curiosity?
The research, undertaken by the Motivation Science Lab at the University of Reading, found that our brains treat new information like food.
Some of the participants were so keen to find out how a magic trick worked that they were even willing to experience mild electrical shocks!
Turns out we are hardwired to be curious, and willing to go pretty far to find out what we do not know.
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So why are humans so curious?
The reason for our curiosity is mostly attributed to our ancestors’ survival instincts (what isn’t huh…). The curiosity would have helped them to find food or even avoid danger, so being curious was a smart thing to do.
And it still is.
Our curiosity might not be quite as essential for our survival as it used to be for our cave-dwelling ancestors’, but it still matters quite a lot.
Our curiosity helps us see more, experience more, and just makes life more interesting, and fun.
Curiosity also makes a big difference in our ability to learn and is one of the main reasons why people do things like climb the Everest.
Curiosity matters. Won’t you agree?
How curious are you?
Share your thoughts on curiosity in the comments.