5 Phrases That Are Killing Curiosity
I knew something horrible had happened. The sound scared me before I felt anything more than a weird sensation. Immediately the intense sympathy I could never quite muster for people complaining of backaches came rushing in with the pain.
The culprit was one of those huge tractor tires in a torturous bootcamp exercise class. As per instructions, I was flipping it over and over. If I had been paid to do it, I would have refused on the principle that it was workplace endangerment. In this case, I was actually paying real money to do this. (Studies show that being paid to do something often has a negative effect on the pleasure derived. Really.)
After going to a doctor, who I was was sure would tell me that I would have to replace my active, adventurous lifestyle with crocheting inspirational wall art, I found out that I had pulled a muscle. Pulled a muscle?! That sounded way too innocuous for what I was experiencing, but I was relieved because I’m horrible at needle art.
I went to another doctor, a chiropractor. Research indicates that chiropractors can cure everything…and nothing. It often depends on who’s sponsoring or conducting the research, actually. After several weeks of adjustments to my body, I was feeling better. My story might have been a pretty typical case study.
A few days after I was mobile enough to start exercising again, I met a friend for lunch. She had just injured her back and was wondering if the chiropractic treatment had worked for me. She was in a lot of pain so I wanted to encourage her. I explained that I was feeling much better.
“Great,” she said. “The chiropractic stuff worked.”
I told her, “I’m curious about it, for sure, but I really don’t know.”
“But you’re feeling better?”
“Yes, but I’m curious to know whether with time alone I might have felt the same as I do now. Or worse. Or better. Time conflates with everything–as does everything else I have done while undergoing chiropractic treatment–stretching, massaging, sipping tequila, swearing.”
And then she said the magic words. The magic words that make us believe–the magic words that potentially kill our curiosity.
Studies show…
The thing is, we can now read how studies do show this and that. Gone are the days when we only had to make sense of the selectively shared tidbits of information that our doctor, real estate professional, attorney, car salesperson, professor, or trusted expert, spoon-fed us in easily digestible chunks. We have access to more information than ever before. We are experiencing a data deluge, and it is potentially a recipe for disaster.
I know we’re busy–crazy busy even, and this blog post may be a little long, but stay with me here. I’d like to sell you on the biggest influence on my life: Curiosity.
Below is a list of actual studies, research results, expert analyses, scientific findings and known facts that I have read, heard repeated in speeches, and scrolled through in social media feeds. Hidden in this list are the curiosity killers.
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According to experts, people who survive cancer have better attitudes.
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Science says that adults who were breast-fed have higher levels of intelligence and higher incomes.
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Studies show that women leaders are better than men.
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Research indicates that men are more sensitive to relationship quality than women.
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A new study shows that Millennials are better at buying houses.
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Paleozoic women long knew that children who eat more ketchup have higher test scores
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And my personal favorite is the new report that proves (okay, suggests) that booze is toxic to the brains of men, but not to the brains of women.
But what if it looked like this?
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According to Dr. Dre, people who survive cancer have better attitudes.
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Mister Rogers proved that adults who were breast-fed have higher levels of intelligence and higher incomes.
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Donald Trump has shown that women leaders are better than men.
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Bikram yoga shows that men are more sensitive to relationship quality than women.
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Beyonce indicates that Millennials are better at buying houses.
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Paleozoic women long knew that children who eat more ketchup have higher test scores.
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And my personal favorite is the Bill Cosby philosophy that proves (okay, suggests) that booze is toxic to the brains of men, but not to the brains of women.
In our human attempt to make sense of all the information that bombards us, we resort to shortcuts, tips and tricks. These tips and tricks heuristics are riddled with distracting and distorting biases that can burn us in dangerous ways. When we see that a study suggests something, we are scientifically proven to believe it 94% more. It’s a shortcut.
But if we don’t resort to shortcuts and heuristics, what do we do about the fact that we have to make judgments and decisions when we are stressed and busy–crazy busy? How can we not be seduced by easy answers to hard questions and still avoid being distracted by hard answers to easy questions?
Nobel prize winning Harvard researchers say that, by the time you read these anchoring words, you are 93% more likely to believe what follows…without igniting curiosity.
These anchors-of-believability are curiosity killers.
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According to experts…
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Studies show…
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Research indicates…
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Science says…
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It’s a known fact that…
The information that follows these curiosity killers is often the exact type of information that deserves to be curiously evaluated. It’s a conundrum.
In order to consider more insightfully, think more strategically, make better decisions, and even judge more compassionately, the anchoring lures of authority (science, research, studies, facts, experts) should not go unrecognized for what they are: Curiosity Killers.
The relief these curiosity killers provide can be significant when the information that follows the words, “Studies show…” provides comfort or supports our previously held beliefs.
For example, if you drink tequila you may be less likely to question a study that suggests that people who drink tequila are smarter. If your child was diagnosed with autism, you may be more likely to believe a study that proves that immunizations cause autism. You may even forget that, in addition to your child having immunizations before the onset of symptoms of autism, they also petted a horse, ate a certain food for the first time, heard a new song, and got a bit older.
It is comforting to find cause when there are so many correlations, but correlation is not cause. In our age of data deluge and instant access to information, the barrier to entry for something to qualify as a study, research, expert opinion, or science is just too low to allow those claims to stifle our curiosity about the claim. That makes not being curious very dangerous.
If you wish to elevate curiosity ahead of criticism in order to think more insightfully, here are 5 easy questions to smash curiosity killers.
5 Easy Questions to Elevate Curiosity and Smash Curiosity Killers:
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Compared to?
For example, if studies show that people who survive cancer have better attitudes, one of your first questions might be, “Compared to whom?”
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As measured by?
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Conducted by?
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Tested on?
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Is this bogus to begin with?
Curiosity requires persistence to question in the face of comforting curiosity killers. It requires a certain comfort living in the murkiness of the grey area, but ultimately it can make smarter decisions much clearer. It is clear that if we are truly in the age of information and accessibility, to survive with our good decision-making, judgment and critical thinking skills intact, we must also usher and welcome in the Age of Curiosity.
Maybe it was my sailor-mouthed swearing that alleviated my back pain. Maybe it was one particular stretching exercise or massage. I’d like to think sipping tequila had something to do with it. It’s completely possible that it was the chiropractic care or combination of all of the things I was doing to heal my back and some of the things I was just doing or not doing–or just time.
I recommended that my friend go to my chiropractor and meet me afterward for margaritas.
In March, 2016 my next book, Living Curiously: How to Use Curiosity to Be Remarkable and Do Good Stuff will be released. Science says it will be 87% more likely to ignite curiosity in ways that will make your life 78% better.
In case you’re curious–here’s your invitation to the Tribe of the Curious. [button link=”https://beckisaltzman.com/join-the-tribe-of-the-curious/” color=”alt” size=”small” icon=”” target=”_self” animation=”fromBottom”]Join the Tribe[/button]