From the course: Applied Curiosity
Free-range versus applied curiosity
- When we talk about curiosity, what are we actually talking about? It turns out that we're really talking about two related but distinct types of curiosity, free-range curiosity and applied curiosity. Free-range curiosity is that child-like sense of wonder. It's investigating for the sake of investigation, learning for the sake of learning. It's like basic science, studying the molecular structure of cells to learn more about the molecular structure of cells. It focuses on identifying and understanding problems. When you attend a convention to learn more about a topic or industry or you meet with a business associate from a different department to learn more about what's going on in that department, that's free-range curiosity, but applied curiosity is the application of curiosity to do specific things, to solve problems. It's like applied science, studying the molecular structure of cells in order to develop a new drug that will treat a disease. It's applied curiosity when you use curiosity to attract new customers or find innovative ways to position a new product in a saturated market or to make sense of what may seem like useless data. Both free-range and applied curiosity are critical for success at work, but it's vital to understand the distinction and benefits of both types of curiosity. We're all born with different levels of free-range curiosity, but your levels are not static. We can affect our levels and use applied curiosity in all kinds of ways, ways you might not have ever imagined.
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