Recently, I’ve been challenged to consider curiosity and its role in envisioning future technologies through exploring the #alwayscurious initiative at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany on their 350th anniversary. They’ve partnered with many scientists, artists, and thinkers to more fully explore and share ideas about curiosity.
I was delighted to come across a recent series of articles in The Harvard Business Review about the role of curiosity in business and why it is important. I found myself most drawn to the article, The Five Dimensions of Curiosity, by psychologist Todd B. Kashdan and his co-authors.
HBR cover September-October 2018 issue
The group that formulated the Five Dimensions of Curiosity did so by combining the work of science teams who look at various aspects of curiosity. The dimensions they formulated are described as follows:
Joyous Exploration -being consumed with wonder about the fascinating features of the world.
Deprivation Sensitivity -recognizing a gap in knowledge, the filling of which offers relief.
Stress Tolerance-a willingness to accept and even harness the anxiety associated with novelty.
Social Curiosity -talking, listening, and observing others to learn what they are thinking and doing.
Thrill Seeking -being willing to take physical, social, and financial risks to acquire varied, complex, and intense experiences.
The old version of the Joanne Love Science website sported a subtitle that read: “Always passionate, always curious, always enthusiastic about everything science”.
I suppose I’ve given very little thought into what being curious REALLY means, and learning about the five dimensions of curiosity helps dissect the idea of curiosity apart.
Given that my self-proclamation of “always curious” was a hallmark of my older website, I thought I would peruse a few older interviews I’d given that could provide snapshot of the role curiosity had in guiding me to science, and my hopes that my children would remain curious well past their childhoods. Through a few excerpts, I see evidence of a few of the dimensions in my answers.
This first interview hails from a few years back at F Equals.
Bardega: Joanne, tell us a little bit about your background ~ what were you like growing up? Manaster: I was quite shy but very curious. I did the usual things kids do, playing with friends outside, playing equally with dolls or cars with my siblings, and participating as a Girl Scout for many years. I loved to read all sorts of books and I particularly enjoyed when NOVA or National Geographic Specials would come on TV. My dad was in the Air Force and we moved around a bit. The most interesting place we lived was on Guam during my middle school and high school years. It was great to live in tropical weather all year long and have the privilege to enjoy the ocean habitat every day.
Bardega: You have had quite a varied career – from model to scientist. What sparked your interest in science and ultimately led you to the career path you took? Manaster: I’d always been interested in nature and the human body. My father was a hospital administrator and my mom had numerous health issues and I’m sure these things colored by desire to go to medical school to become a doctor. I also spent a lot of time exploring the “boonies” on Guam where my father was stationed with the Air Force, so I attribute that to my interest in nature and honing my observation skills that are necessary in science.
Looking at these two answers to the interviewer’s questions, it is clear that I have a bent toward the dimension of Joyous Exploration. What ultimately drove me to science was a sense of wonder about the world and the joy that discovery brings to me.
[This]… dimension… is joyous exploration—being consumed with wonder about the fascinating features of the world. This is a pleasurable state; people in it seem to possess a joie de vivre.
No wonder observational and exploratory science makes me happy!
Incredibly creative ideas can come forth thanks to curiosity. This of great help in science, but results can be seen in the art world as well. For instance, looking at the Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany #alwayscurious initiative, I was most awed by the artistic collaboration with Mira Calix, an award winning composer based in the UK. In Ode to the Future, Mira creates music in collaboration with six unborn humans via the sounds created during ultrasounds. It’s so unique and creative and definitely worth checking out.
Returning to the five dimensions, Deprivation Sensitivity has been, and remains, another major impetus to finding answers to concepts I don’t know.
Deprivation Sensitivity -recognizing a gap in knowledge, the filling of which offers relief. This type of curiosity doesn’t necessarily feel good, but people who experience it work relentlessly to solve problems.
Continuing with the F Equals interview:
Bardega: You’re an extremely busy lady ~ how do you manage all the different hats you wear? Manaster:I began outreach after my four children were all a bit older, 8 years old and up at the time (They are now 24, 21, 19 and 16) (edit: they are now 27, 24, 22 and 19). It was still a busy time as a mom, but my kids were becoming more independent and that freed up quite a bit of my time. I don’t think I could have done what I do now at the time I had babies and toddlers! In fact, I’m pretty sure my time with so many young children truly increased my capacity to multitask, to block out distractions when necessary, and to keep a hold on the wonder of the natural world, especially because I wanted my children to remain curious!
I think when you enjoy what you do, it makes it easier to balance many different things. All the things I do: teaching, interacting on social media, reading books and interviewing science book authors, traveling, and spending time in my children’s company, I enjoy immensely, so I make time for it all.
I’d certainly consider my interest in my children and their well-being a form of social curiosity. Looking again at the HBR article:
Social Curiosity -talking, listening, and observing others to learn what they are thinking and doing. Human beings are inherently social animals, and the most effective and efficient way to determine whether someone is friend or foe is to gain information. Some may even snoop, eavesdrop, or gossip to do so.
It’s not such a stretch to consider that my interest in scientists doing their work, or of the people with whom I interact with on social media, could also be considered a form or social curiosity.
What advice can you give to science and engineering students?
If you are interested in science and engineering, I hope you will persevere even if others around say it is hard, and definitely banish any thoughts you may have acquired from teachers, your parents or peers such as, “Science is only for “smart” people, and that’s not me.” Granted, science and engineering require that you apply yourself, that you challenge yourself, but our brains and our very essence of being thrives on that challenge. A sense of accomplishment once you understand a new concept or learned a new skill is one of the most rewarding things you will ever encounter. It is quite motivating.
Begin to notice what interests you. Are you drawn to certain topics more than others? Take note of those and begin to explore those topics more in depth, and from many different angles. Read a book on the topic, watch a video or TV show, find articles, and even contact an expert in the field if you want to know more and would like hands-on experience. When you are sated with that topic, feel free to move on to another, and even see where your areas of fascination overlap!
Finally, read. Read a lot. Read the books you enjoy, but start to read books that are a little more difficult and require more concentration. Try a new topic. I strongly believe it is one key to becoming successful in science and engineering as well as other fields. Don’t let your intellect wither through lack of challenge of only watching TV or playing video games to the exclusion of all else. Stay curious and actively pursue the things that fascinate you and take your explorations further and deeper!
The advice I offer here indicates that what you are interested or fascinated in is also something you are curious about and it is easier to learn new things when you capitalize on that curiosity. The willingness to explore a new field, area, concept or space is called Stress Tolerance. Being in the state of not knowing can motivate one in curiosity.
Stress Tolerance-a willingness to accept and even harness the anxiety associated with novelty. People lacking this ability see information gaps, experience wonder, and are interested in others but are unlikely to step forward and explore.
I’ve covered four of the five dimensions. The only dimension I don’t feel a complete resonance with is Thrill Seeking. It may manifest in a mild form because I enjoy travel, however, I’m more likely to imagine our adventurers, explorers, and entrepreneurs in this category than I am myself.
Psychologist Todd B. Kashdan, who compiled the Five Dimensions of Curiosity, has pursued theses ideas with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany about the role of curiosity at work. From the HBR article:
With Merck KGaA we have explored attitudes toward and expressions of work-related curiosity. In a survey of 3,000 workers in China, Germany, and the United States, we found that 84% believe that curiosity catalyzes new ideas, 74% think it inspires unique, valuable talents, and 63% think it helps one get promoted. In other studies across diverse units and geographies, we have found evidence that four of the dimensions—joyous exploration, deprivation sensitivity, stress tolerance, and social curiosity—improve work outcomes. The latter two seem to be particularly important: Without the ability to tolerate stress, employees are less likely to seek challenges and resources and to voice dissent and are more likely to feel enervated and to disengage. And socially curious employees are better than others at resolving conflicts with colleagues, more likely to receive social support, and more effective at building connections, trust, and commitment on their teams. People or groups high in both dimensions are more innovative and creative.
In my job as a university level biology educator, I find myself interested in how curiosity helps students, and how it eventually can be of benefit to the work of a scientist. Curiosity makes for faster learners, leading to better job-related performance, and eases the process of adapting to new environments. Curiosity is all about learning what we do not yet know. I’m sure to most of the readers of this article, it is like preaching to the choir, but it’s clear that keeping your curiosity high seems to be a wise approach to leading an interesting life.
Saturday, January 24 from noon to 4pm (in YOUR timezone) is time set aside to sit down and read for the National Read-a-thon Day as sponsored by the National Book Foundation whose mission is to expand the audience for literature in America.
At Read Science! Jeff and I want to encourage you to take some time to read a book of your choice that day in a show of support for literacy. You don’t have to read science, as any reading is great for the mind. However, if you want to read some science, you can certainly look to us to help you make some great choices. Connect with us on Facebook if you want to start a discussion about books!
I have attended a few NASA events, including the last shuttle launch and the launch of MAVEN. I visited Johnson Space Center in May 2013, tweeting images and thoughts from my visit. The image above was seen by Jennifer Welsh at Business Insider and included in a post, with my permission.
“Joanne Manaster, a biologist at the University of Illinois-Urbana, tweeted this image of the mission control room that runs the International Space Station.
In the picture, you can see a video link into the station, the video feed from an outer camera on the station, and the station’s route, which you can also find online. Look at all those screens — four each!
You can see the Flight Director, who monitors the technical aspects of the space station’s flight in real time; the CAPCOM, who is the capsule communicator that talks directly to the astronauts on the space station; and the MOD, the mission operations dictorate, who plans, directs, manages, and implements overall mission operations.“
I also saw a retired Soyuz capsule, a mock up of the International Space Station used to train astronauts and some mock-ups of the new Orion capsule that will be our next vehicle to take humans back and forth to space, and with any luck, they will also go to Mars.
If you ever have an opportunity to go to a NASA Social, I highly recommend giving it a chance. It will help you look at our space program with a more informed eye, and every space news story will come alive in your mind.
In a way, we have Alan to thank for the inception of my website/blog ‘Joanne Loves Science’ and my foray into social media.
My “Dream Job”
Several years ago, as I was standing in front of a section of my “Cell Culture and Concepts of Tissue Engineering” lab class at the University of Illinois, I introduced a video segment from Scientific American Frontiers with Alan Alda. In this program, Mr. Alda traveled to numerous laboratories across the world to inquire about their research, bringing the audience along with him. He figured if the scientists could make their research understandable to him, then the general public would understand it, too!
To my surprise, the sentence “He’s doing my dream job!” tumbled out of my mouth.
This gallery contains several images taken or captured over the years from various new media and outreach activities I’ve participated in. These include several appearances on TV and internet programming, on stage speaking to young ladies about careers in science, various activities with NASA, contributing to social media panels, and even an appearance on stage with Thomas Dolby.
Social Media and Outreach Snapshots
Talking About My Alaska Trip for Science on ciLiving with Joe and Drew
Women in the public eye are constantly scrutinized for what they wear, whether it be a politician, a Hollywood starlet or even a scientist at the Nobel Prize ceremony. The male Nobel Prize recipients have it relatively easy, at least wardrobe-wise. They put on their tie and tails and they are good to go, but women have a few more decisions to make regarding color, style, accessories, appropriateness for the venue and so forth.
May Britt Moser’s sample dress as designed by Matthew Hubble
On this episode we talked everything molecules: organic and inorganic chemistry, honey & high-fructose corn syrup, pigments, sodium ducks, and knitted sheep butts. Our guests were Theodore Gray, author, and Nick Mann, photographer, of the beautiful, informative, and entertaining book “Molecules : The Elements and the Architecture of Everything”.
For this episode, we not only Read Science, we Make Science! Our guest was Liz Heinecke, the Kitchen Pantry Scientist and author of “Kitchen Science Lab for Kids”. We talked about engaging kids and their parents with science through hands-on science fun in the kitchen–and outdoors, for the messier experiments.
Last summer, I attended a new media professionals workshop at the Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) in Colorado to learn more about the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission which launched last November. This orbiter is specially equipped to discover “What happened to the atmosphere of Mars?” The answers can begin to be answered once the MAVEN maneuvers into Mars orbit tonight.
is entertaining!)
A Look at the Five Dimensions of Curiosity
Recently, I’ve been challenged to consider curiosity and its role in envisioning future technologies through exploring the #alwayscurious initiative at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany on their 350th anniversary. They’ve partnered with many scientists, artists, and thinkers to more fully explore and share ideas about curiosity.
I was delighted to come across a recent series of articles in The Harvard Business Review about the role of curiosity in business and why it is important. I found myself most drawn to the article, The Five Dimensions of Curiosity, by psychologist Todd B. Kashdan and his co-authors.
The group that formulated the Five Dimensions of Curiosity did so by combining the work of science teams who look at various aspects of curiosity. The dimensions they formulated are described as follows:
The old version of the Joanne Love Science website sported a subtitle that read: “Always passionate, always curious, always enthusiastic about everything science”.
I suppose I’ve given very little thought into what being curious REALLY means, and learning about the five dimensions of curiosity helps dissect the idea of curiosity apart.
Given that my self-proclamation of “always curious” was a hallmark of my older website, I thought I would peruse a few older interviews I’d given that could provide snapshot of the role curiosity had in guiding me to science, and my hopes that my children would remain curious well past their childhoods. Through a few excerpts, I see evidence of a few of the dimensions in my answers.
This first interview hails from a few years back at F Equals.
Looking at these two answers to the interviewer’s questions, it is clear that I have a bent toward the dimension of Joyous Exploration. What ultimately drove me to science was a sense of wonder about the world and the joy that discovery brings to me.
From the HBR article:
No wonder observational and exploratory science makes me happy!
Incredibly creative ideas can come forth thanks to curiosity. This of great help in science, but results can be seen in the art world as well. For instance, looking at the Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany #alwayscurious initiative, I was most awed by the artistic collaboration with Mira Calix, an award winning composer based in the UK. In Ode to the Future, Mira creates music in collaboration with six unborn humans via the sounds created during ultrasounds. It’s so unique and creative and definitely worth checking out.
Returning to the five dimensions, Deprivation Sensitivity has been, and remains, another major impetus to finding answers to concepts I don’t know.
The HBR article elaborates on this:
Continuing with the F Equals interview:
I’d certainly consider my interest in my children and their well-being a form of social curiosity. Looking again at the HBR article:
It’s not such a stretch to consider that my interest in scientists doing their work, or of the people with whom I interact with on social media, could also be considered a form or social curiosity.
Let’s briefly look at an excerpt from another interview granted when I was acting as a Kavli Science Video Contest advisor for the USA Science and Engineering Festival in 2014.
The advice I offer here indicates that what you are interested or fascinated in is also something you are curious about and it is easier to learn new things when you capitalize on that curiosity. The willingness to explore a new field, area, concept or space is called Stress Tolerance. Being in the state of not knowing can motivate one in curiosity.
The HBR article explains further:
I’ve covered four of the five dimensions. The only dimension I don’t feel a complete resonance with is Thrill Seeking. It may manifest in a mild form because I enjoy travel, however, I’m more likely to imagine our adventurers, explorers, and entrepreneurs in this category than I am myself.
Psychologist Todd B. Kashdan, who compiled the Five Dimensions of Curiosity, has pursued theses ideas with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany about the role of curiosity at work. From the HBR article:
Learn more about this at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s The Performance of Curious Employees is Higher
In my job as a university level biology educator, I find myself interested in how curiosity helps students, and how it eventually can be of benefit to the work of a scientist. Curiosity makes for faster learners, leading to better job-related performance, and eases the process of adapting to new environments. Curiosity is all about learning what we do not yet know. I’m sure to most of the readers of this article, it is like preaching to the choir, but it’s clear that keeping your curiosity high seems to be a wise approach to leading an interesting life.
6 years ago Blog, curiosity • Tags: curiosity, five dimensions of curiosity, Joanne Manaster, Merck KGaA