Dr David McGrath

Spine Physician

MB BS (Hons) FAFOM, RACP, FAFMM
Master of Pain Medicine

Curiosity is the emotion of openness or exploration. A structural willingness to remain within a domain of unfamiliar disturbances. The behavior is new. This emotion is common in people and particularly so in scientists.
But why is it useful? Here is some tentative maths.

EmotionOutcome	Successful Outcome	Non Successful Outcome
Curious	a	b
Not Curious	c	d

Cell "a" represents a curious inquiry leading to a successful outcome
Cell "b" represents a curious inquiry not leading a successful outcome
Cell "c" represents lack of interest but success happens anyway
Cell "d" represents lack of interest and there is no success

When we are curious, we have success a/(a+b) of the time
When we are dis-interested, we have success c/(c+d) of the time
What could swing the odds in favour of curiosity ?
Would it be useful always,or only special circumstances ?
Maybe the clue lies in some concrete examples. In a stable environment, we have time to establish what works and what doesn't. Its hard to improve on 100%. Putting it another way, don't mess with what works.
In other words, there is no need to be curious in a stable environment to which we have adapted. We see that in other animals. Many animals make a new movement towards a novel disturbance.(ie show curiosity). The pattern of movement stabilises and we observe repeating behaviour such as indifference or a new behaviour. The curiosity ends, as the disturbance is no longer unfamiliar.
There is no evidence, to suggest we are any different. In a stable environment we are not curious,because there is no need.

EmotionOutcome	Successful Outcome	Non Successful Outcome
Curious	0%	100%
Not Curious	100%	0%

What makes us different, is our divergent behaviour, which tends to destabilise the environment.
1.We disturb each other by our language inputs
2.We disturb the current environment beyond our immediate needs
3.We create new domains of disturbance
4.We migrate into new domains

All of this leads to turbulence in both the social and general environment,creating new disturbances. In other words, we stir the pot ,creating disturbance problems for ouselves and food for curiosity.
Under THESE circumstances it pays to be curious.
It's a bit like splitting the atom. A whole new class of disturbances are now available for our curiosity. Moreover, we can't ignore the phenomena that we released. The numbers evolve to a new set like this:

EmotionOutcome	Successful Outcome	Non Successful Outcome
Curious	50%	50%
Not Curious	10%	90%

Now, we have changed the odds, to favour curiosity. Curiosity is engendered by a change in environment. It is also forced upon us, because the old patterns of behaviour are not working. (10% success)
Curiosity can be seen as THE problem solving emotion. Problems arise in new environments,much of which is our own making. Contentment is the opposite emotion to curiosity.
Science is the business of turning curiosity into success.