By Nicarlyle Hanchard / The Jambar
“Curiosity killed the cat,” or so we’ve heard others say, and even said it ourselves. I say it to myself every time I raise my eyebrows too high. A cautionary tale for some, I nonetheless believe society is going through a phase where we lack genuine curiosity.
No one wants to take the time to research something. No one wants to explore creative avenues because they are afraid to fail. No one wants to take the necessary steps to excel.
I took French for eight years — it has been four-plus years since I sat in a French class or took any French lesson. I started practicing Spanish recently, going through verbs and their conjugations, adding some phrases as I go along. I was shocked at how much there is to know, so I sort of called it for the moment.
I then remembered it took me nearly a decade to know as much French as I do, so I need to be patient with myself. I, like many others, don’t want to fail. I overthink the learning. I think my accent is awful, that I’ll never truly understand Hispanic/Latino culture, but my curiosity keeps me going.
My want to know and to understand supersedes the inevitability of making mistakes along the way. I don’t think many people possess that trait, and it’s not a fault of their own. Social media often shows the end result of years of trial and error.
Information is so readily available to us now that we no longer need to scroll six pages on Google to find a comprehensive article — it’s all right there. This isn’t the worst thing, but our brains must be exercised and that type of readiness of information doesn’t help.
Some people, however, don’t see it as an issue, and that is an issue within itself. You don’t know what you’re working with or against if you don’t know the current conditions of your work.
To the credit of the individuals, having all this available information can become overstimulating. I don’t blame anyone for wanting a moment where you don’t have to think about anything. However, we can’t stay in that place forever — we must think critically and creatively.
Speaking of, curiosity is part of the creative process. Curiosity about a concept, a medium or technique, and how you as the person using your hands to create the things, interpret all of the above.
Though the end result is similar, the process is different, and there is so much to learn about these processes — lessons about your life and self. This needs to be considered and appreciated.
A thought? The works created through these curious endeavors hold a deeper significance to the creators and those they made it for. And that is something that cannot be prompted.