What does it mean to be curious? How much is too much curiosity? Is it possible to weave those curiosities together, find patterns and extrapolate from those samples of information in order to, perhaps, produce things? It almost does not matter what the thing is. I am just genuinely fascinated by this entire process, however messy and undefined it is.
There is no framework, per se. I get an idea, I read and do a lot of research on said idea through books, primarily and find a counter-idea, or a completely unrelated discipline and look for connections. If I want to pursue an idea, I attack from all sides. Meaning, the more interested I am with it, the more that I’m going to expand the disciplines it could very well be connected to. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it absolutely makes no sense, I reach a dead end and consider that path null and void. When it works though, the connections just never end.
You find a path in every discipline that could potentially strengthen the idea. It is the most thrilling chase, to be completely honest. I am in awe at how interconnected everything is. It’s hard to unsee things once you’ve already seen it from such a different perspective.
In the hopes of giving a face to how my curiosity-fueled brain works, I made a little a diagram. It probably isn’t as accurate as I want it to be but consider this an early snapshot.
Loads to unpack here. First off, I think ‘Design’ in itself is such a ubiquitous word, it’s becoming such a powerful piece in every puzzle when you speak of the future. It’s definitely not enough to visualize the complexity of it like this. Just on a high-level point-of-view, this is fine for now.
All the other smaller circles are corresponding fields of study, or interest that I’ve been juggling and paying close attention to. Some more passive than the others, I am working on it.
What is the point of this random post?
There is a price to pay for attention: mental energy. In today’s world, it is a currency that powers a lot of companies and startups. What we give our attention to matters.
I am incredibly protective of my mental energy. In fact, oftentimes, it is easier for me to part with my money than with my energy. Simply because I know how hard it is to build it, to nurture it and ultimately use it to the best of my advantage. There is no way I’m giving it away for free, for mindless and numbing things that want to suck all of it, all day, everyday.
In order to achieve my goals, this is what I need to do. This is what I need to conserve more in order to slowly bring back the curiosities that matter. Curiosities that…
drive an engine of change
spark a personal revolution
solve a creative problem
power a life worth emulating
replicate a classic auteur’s process
challenge the status quo
make a difference, no matter the intensity
paint a much brighter future, no matter the scale
or simply bring back what makes us human
Curiosity is a powerful tool but so are a lot of weapons. What we do with it and how we use it matters. The world is littered with too many, arguably, useless things born from someone else’s curiosities.
The challenge now is to fight that with things born from curiosities that matter. For our sake, and ultimately, for the future generation.
This post will be updated…
Thank you for reading,
Nikki Espartinez
What are your current curiosities? If you are interested in sharing, I would love to know. My inbox is open: nikkiespartinez@gmail.com
Short reads that are worth your time: The Day You Became A Better Writer by Dilbert.Blog and The Difference Being by Alan Cooper
If you liked this topic, you might like my post :
All future-focused. All present-oriented. Thank you again for reading working title.