Curiosity is a superpower
An engineer at Gentrack recently told me that curiosity is my super power. This got me thinking about curiosity and what it enables.
curiosity
noun /ˌkjʊr.iˈɑː.sə.t̬i/
an eager wish to know or learn about something
One narrative that I’ve frequently discovered inside companies is “this is how we do it here”. Curiosity can help when you encounter this, you can learn a lot by seeking out the history. Often people won’t remember the why, just the what. The original context and learning is lost and all that remains is the scar tissue. It’s tempting in these situations to jump to conclusions.
Chesterton’s fence1 cautions us against shallow curiosity. When you encounter a fence which is inhibiting progress, it is tempting to immediately begin readying your bulldozer to destroy it. Particularly if it’s an ugly fence with broken sections which need effort to maintain. Building new things and knocking aside blockers can be satisfying. Rather, pause and engage your curiosity. Ask questions to understand the benefit of this fence. Eventually a quiet voice may inform you “that fence keeps out a hungry tiger”. Seek first to understand.
Another common narrative is “the CEO/CTO/Highest Paid Person said so”. Missing in these stories is any explanation of why. It’s common that the narrator didn’t themself ask questions to deeply understand why. Irrespective of how you chose to act (an entirely separate topic!), you always have the opportunity to form your own opinion. Curiosity is useful in these situations, seek insight and form your own view on the matter. You can always change your mind as your understanding grows. What seems like a great idea on the surface may reveal itself to have unexpected negative consequences. Framed as failure, changing your mind can be paralyzingly difficult. Framed as a simple pivot, a change of mind given new information can be empowering. As Alan Kay said, “a change in perspective is worth 80 IQ points.”2
Curiosity alone isn’t a super power. It becomes one when coupled with good intent and a willingness to change your mind.
https://fs.blog/chestertons-fence/
https://www.quora.com/What-did-Alan-Kay-mean-by-A-change-of-perspective-is-worth-80-IQ-points