In a recent post, I explored the loss of critical thinking skills. In this post, I want to extend my exploration by asking whether we have also lost curiosity. Once again, my thoughts are not fully formed and I’m asking more questions than answering them. And warning: VERY LONG post so if you’re not curious about curiosity, then read no further :)-
I have been bemoaning what no doubt many of us see as a hedonistic contemporary society that is stupefied by reality TV; a society that is complacent (paralysed?) in the face of poverty, increasing social unrest, terrorism, Affluenza, and the banality of Hollywood celebrity who appear to be more in, than out of, rehab.
We spend most of our time in the citadels aka corporations, where we are subtly (or not so subtly) taught not to ask questions; not to challenge the status quo; to accept that “this is the way things are around here”. As children, we explore, we discover, we probe, we sense, we ask “but why?”. Organisations do not seem to foster this natural inquisitiveness. Maybe a few words about innovation are muttered, but not curiosity. We don’t teach people trapped in the citadels the skill of curiosity.
So I was about to do a post that was basically a rant about how we are no longer curious; how we don’t have time to indulge in idle curiosity; how lowered educational standards have produced an educational system where students are spoon-fed in exchange for exhorbitant university or college fees.Then I decided to try and apply some critical thinking and so my initial thoughts somewhat changed.
But first…. my own curiosity was piqued when I read a blog post:
“Many people my age (20-something) have simply lost their curiosity. They’ve lost their desire to know what’s going on. To stay on top of the news. To be aware of the world extending beyond their general social circle. And that’s sad.
Have we gotten so used to the status quo that we are no longer interested in non-mediocrity? I thought this time of our lives was meant to be spent shaking things up, questioning authority, figuring out how messed up the world around us really was. Instead, I fear that we’ve folded up shop, accepted the reality-as-Bushworld-has-described-it and settled in for the long haul toward old age.
Do we still read newspapers for anything other than the daily crossword puzzle? Do we listen to the radio for anything other than the latest Maroon 5 single or football game? Do we surf the Internet for anything other than buying clothes, forming social networks, or watching Paris Hilton have sex? I’m starting to doubt it”
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I have been bemoaning what no doubt many of us see as a hedonistic contemporary society that is stupefied by reality TV; a society that is complacent (paralysed?) in the face of poverty, increasing social unrest, terrorism, Affluenza, and the banality of Hollywood celebrity who appear to be more in, than out of, rehab.
We spend most of our time in the citadels aka corporations, where we are subtly (or not so subtly) taught not to ask questions; not to challenge the status quo; to accept that “this is the way things are around here”. As children, we explore, we discover, we probe, we sense, we ask “but why?”. Organisations do not seem to foster this natural inquisitiveness. Maybe a few words about innovation are muttered, but not curiosity. We don’t teach people trapped in the citadels the skill of curiosity.
So I was about to do a post that was basically a rant about how we are no longer curious; how we don’t have time to indulge in idle curiosity; how lowered educational standards have produced an educational system where students are spoon-fed in exchange for exhorbitant university or college fees.Then I decided to try and apply some critical thinking and so my initial thoughts somewhat changed.
But first…. my own curiosity was piqued when I read a blog post:
“Many people my age (20-something) have simply lost their curiosity. They’ve lost their desire to know what’s going on. To stay on top of the news. To be aware of the world extending beyond their general social circle. And that’s sad.
Have we gotten so used to the status quo that we are no longer interested in non-mediocrity? I thought this time of our lives was meant to be spent shaking things up, questioning authority, figuring out how messed up the world around us really was. Instead, I fear that we’ve folded up shop, accepted the reality-as-Bushworld-has-described-it and settled in for the long haul toward old age.
Do we still read newspapers for anything other than the daily crossword puzzle? Do we listen to the radio for anything other than the latest Maroon 5 single or football game? Do we surf the Internet for anything other than buying clothes, forming social networks, or watching Paris Hilton have sex? I’m starting to doubt it”
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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