Breaking down curiosity

Albert Einstein said, “I have no special talent, I am only passionately curious.” 

Experts say curiosity is the key to success.

Yet curiosity is a human trait. We’re all born with it. We’re all curious in our own ways.

So, what do these experts really mean?

What did Einstein mean?

Psychologists break curiosity into two types: 1) perceptual curiosity; and 2) intellectual curiosity.

Perceptual curiosity is the basic curiosity that we’re born with. It’s our natural interest in new or unusual (i.e. novel) things. It’s often an unconscious choice and it does not require effort.

Perceptual curiosity is essential, but it’s also superficial. It can distract us. Think social media, news headlines, phone rings, and texts pings.

To acquire knowledge and deep understanding, we must transition from perceptual curiosity to intellectual curiosity.

Intellectual (or “epistemic”) curiosity is an advanced form of curiosity that we develop. It’s curiosity that leads to an acquisition of general knowledge. It’s often a conscious choice and it requires effort. 

When we’re intellectually curious, we have a deep desire to know. We ask “why” and “why not”. We probe. We peel back the layers.

One of the most important parts of being intellectually curious is asking questions. But most of us limit our questions due to fear and social conditioning.  

When experts refer to curiosity, they’re referring to intellectual curiosity.

Einstein was intellectually curious. 

Now that we've broken down curiosity, we can dive deeper in a future article.