Epistemic Curiosity

To be honest I do not like taking my car to downtown Toronto. Traffic is nothing but congestion, parking is expensive and difficult to find, and pedestrians and bicycles make it even more challenging. So I take the subway. On Thursday morning this past week I was listening to Metro Morning with Matt Galloway and he was discussing the Wednesday subway breakdown. A signal problem apparently affected the entire Bloor-Danforth line and parts of the Yonge line. The TTC is in the process of replacing the entire signal system, parts of which date back to 1954, but it is going to take years to get it done...or so they said.

Unfortunately, I had a doctors appointment downtown on Thursday but decided to tough it out and take the subway in spite of what I heard earlier in the morning. Guess what? Everything went fine and then suddenly the subway stopped in the middle of nowhere! A couple of announcements were made. I asked the passengers around me what they were, but no one knew!  As it turned out, I was late for my dermatologist appointment.

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This was one time I wished I had my book with me. Usually I don't read on the subway because I spend my time imagining little scenarios about the people standing or sitting nearby. This time, because I was running late for an appointment, my epistemic curiosity refused to fire up, and a book would have been a great way to keep my inquisitive mind happy.

The expression 'Curiosity killed the cat' has a long history in literature. But I have learned that curiosity does not kill cats, rather it is one of the most essential gifts we can have as we grow old. Our doctors, and in the big city we usually have quite a variety to consult with, talk to us old folks about our eating habits and the  need to keep active and get plenty of exercise. But just as important we should be encouraged to continue developing our curious minds. Did you ever notice that non-curious folks are easily bored? Did you ever notice that those folks often have low levels of satisfaction? It's not curiosity that kills old cats like us, it's the lack of curiosity! Not reckless curiosity like jumping off a high bridge  - which I tried a few times in my youth! Now that kind of curiosity just might get rid of a number of old cats.

CURIOSITY

Albert Einstein once said, "I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." Curiosity, or a sense of wonderment, makes it easier to learn new things, it offers rewards and sure beats boredom. Curiosity is alive and well in small children. Parents are forever chasing them around the house pulling them out of kitchen cupboards, grabbing dangerous objects from their mouth, or stopping them from eviscerating the guts out of the portable radio. A Harvard study estimated that children between the age of two and five will ask 40,000 questions! They don't get bored because of their curiosity. But as we grow older we are in danger of losing this great gift. Einstein also wrote, "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education."

So much energy every day goes into working, doing chores, commuting and standing in line somewhere. At the end of the day the best we can do is watch T.V., snack or just do nothing! Curiosity has the power to change all that. Put on 'fresh eyes" each morning and chose to see things differently, after all what most of us really want first and foremost, is just to be happy. And curiosity can deliver just that.

Toronto is one big city. Most places are too far to walk to, the traffic, and its careless drivers, drive me crazy. I guess I still must use the subway to get down town for my doctor appointments. But the next time I go, I will be sure to have my Kobo tucked away in my jacket pocket just in case the damn thing makes an unexpected long stop in a dark tunnel.

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week