Curiosity Is Better Than Being Smart?
I am a curiosity&#x2F;intelligence researcher, AMA. (Seriously, I am.)<p>This article reads like un-researched folk psychology rather than science, which is fine I guess, but I would take it all with skepticism.<p>I&#x27;ll note that based on my and others&#x27; research, it seems to be better to have state curiosity (curiosity about the task at hand) rather than trait curiosity (as in, claiming to be a person with a high curiosity personality trait). Trait curiosity gets you almost nothing: no better learning outcomes, no better performance, and no better recall (in complex problem solving anyway; results are sometimes different in trivial pursuits, but who cares about that [edit: I shouldn&#x27;t say it that way. I was being glib. From a scientific knowledge standpoint, of course we are curious about how curiosity works in trivial matters!]).<p>I don&#x27;t believe there is a way to boost your state (task) curiosity. I&#x27;d also be skeptical that you can boost your trait curiosity.<p>Anyway, one of the main problems with curiosity research is the difficulty in even defining curiosity to a high degree of consensus. I would suggest that as you read this thread, you will see various meanings.<p>Is curiosity a desire to gain knowledge? Is it a desire to see if you are right or wrong? Is it a drive to test existing hypotheses? Is it a motivation sparked by novelty or uncertainty?<p>I would genuinely be interested in knowing what you, dear reader, think curiosity really is. :)