curio may be the driving strength behind mankind ’s never - ending quest for knowledge , though amazingly lilliputian is have it away about where this gumption of wonder actually follow from or what purpose it serves .
Part of the cause for this , according to a new paper published in the journalNeuron , resides in the fact that we ca n’t even agree on what curiosityis . To get around this , the author of the study insist that we should all adopt the tolerant potential definition of the full term , classifying it simply as a “ drive state for information , ” and that by doing so we can begin to trace the inception , subroutine and mechanisms behind our curiousness .
By looking at the subject through this “ rough - and - quick ” lens of the eye , the scientists behind the paper conclude that the purpose of curiosity is to “ motivate the acquisition of noesis and learning . ” The means by which this occur are complex , although previous study have indicated that curiosity may increase our ability to absorb and con info . For example , onestudyrevealed how , when oddity is pique , the brain enters a nation of increased motivation to learn , ask the activation of dopamine advantage electrical circuit as well as parts of the hippocampus that are associated with store formation .
what is more , by adopting such a wide - ranging classification of curiosity , it becomes possible to follow the same “ drive state ” in other creature , thereby enable us to learn more about the evolutionary benefits of our impulse for info . For example , under this definition , even the humble roundworm can be read to be a funny beast , since it display a tendency to explore its surround before beginning its hunt for food . In doing so , it is able to engulf information about the reward it seeks – in this example food – as well as the reward itself , thereby providing enceinte recollective - term payoffs .
The authors take that curiosity may serve an evolutionary design since it “ can tentatively be said to improve performance , yielding physical fitness benefits to organisms with it . ” In other news , the more information we have , the better determination we are able to make .
At the same time , however , it is acknowledged that this ride for knowledge can also have some negative outcome . For illustration , our nosiness and desire to solve mysteries can sometimes get us into grievous situations , hence peculiarity ’s reputation as a nonparallel computerized axial tomography - killer .
