“The thing that makes curiosity so wonderful and so special, and also so difficult to understand, is that it seems to engage us into information that is useless — at the moment.” ~ Jacqueline Gottlieb

I happened to be in Puerto Rico, avoiding the winter cold, just before my conversation with Jacqueline Gottlieb, neuroscientist and connoisseur of curiosity and the science of paying attention. As I tasted new foods and took in lovely sights, I found myself thinking a lot about her idea of sampling as an expression of curiosity and the rewards that we seem to know will come of our forays, even if we don’t know exactly what those rewards will be.

Listen to Choose to be Curious #74: Neuroscience Eyes Curiosity, with Jacqueline Gottlieb, PhD

Henry James wrote in The Art of Fiction, “Try to be one of those on whom nothing is lost.” I love that admonition, whether I apply it to the sounds of a Caribbean rainforest, complex data collection whose ultimate findings are yet to be revealed, or tentative conversations with complete strangers —  as Dana Theus would suggest when we explored the power of that dreaded art: networking.

This week’s Curiosity to Go segment melds it all…

Listen to Curiosity to Go, Ep. #47: Nothing is Lost.

Visit Jacqueline Gottlieb’s Lab here  and more on her work with Pierre Oudeyer in Nature Reviews: Neuroscience.

I first met Jackie at a conference sponsored by The Center for Curiosity. 

Theme music and “Summer Dance” by Sean Balick.  Research and other support by Caroline Kish, with thanks to American University.

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