Wednesday, January 16, 2013

What are you curious about?

One of the ways to avoid one day being the same as the day before is to become curious about something.  I sometimes get horribly curious about difficult subjects to investigate  and then go on reading jags to find all I can on a subject.  Other times my curiosity is over simple things and easily researched, like the "top ten most popular YouTube posts" for instance.  Most are music related, few are political.  And some seriously simple things, like why is it called "German chocolate cake"?
(Named after an American with his secret chocolate recipe: Sam German!).
   I am into Africa at the moment and the Middle East (gee, I wonder why?) and read everything I can find on the subject.  Syria, for instance will become a huge problem because it was artificially carved out as a country and has over 50 different, conflicting interests.  Much the same reason that Yugoslavia never made it, without the iron fist of Tito, that country fell apart.  But I am curious.  Do you continue to pay rent while at war?  How do they manage to eat when the stores are closed?  It is winter there now, they must be cold.  Sometimes I have just simple questions.  I wonder if it is worrisome that Alqueda is feeding these people?
   I wonder whether I will get my Social Security Check next month?  Who would I blame?  What good would that do?  So then I get curious about the National Debt and that is so very complicated!!
It is easier to be curious about outer space and I love the Hubble Telescope!  I can watch those pictures for a long time.  If we are made from stardust, I wonder which star?  Which direction? and, of course, why here?  Why me?
   It is easier to be curious about really good bread and I realize that there is an  amount of science there.  And a lot of art!  Most American bread is so bland and cake-like compared to the average European bread.  I wonder why?
   And, this is really crazy:  A friend of mine is a wild land fire fighter.  Last season he worked in Colorado, Oregon and California.  Now he is on unemployment and like a lot of people is taking advantage of it and not looking for work!  He will receive his unemployment money in Oregon but he can file for it in any of the three States in which he worked.  Oregon would pay him $250 a week, Colorado $200. a week and California will pay him $500 a week!!!! It is all Federal money, from taxpayers, the worker's do not pay but a token into this fund.  Why does California pay so much?
I wonder whether the average Congressman even knows this?  I sometimes have problems tracking down where I spent a hundred bucks! How do you follow many trillions of dollars?
   I need some Barbed Wire for a little "arty" commission I am doing, not much, less than 200 feet. It is sold in spools of a fifth mile long!, about 1,300 feet. I wonder how this came to be? and the three different stores in my little city that carry it, there are three different prices: $91, $89 and $54. I wonder if the expensive stores ever sell any?  I was curious whether I could find any on Craigslist and found a full spool for just $30.  I made money from my curiosity!
   Children are absolutely curious about everything and my dog is too.  I think there is a secret there, some connection to youth and exuberance, an excitement to get up in the morning because there are discoveries to be made, things to investigate!
   It is not all research, some curiosity is satisfied by just doing things differently.  Artists do this, have it in their nature to wonder:  What if I do it this way?  and that same kind of wonder is what makes a scientist.  No fear in experimenting.  You always learn somethings, even if it is 10,000 ways not to do something!

5 comments:

Optimistic Existentialist said...

One of the things I have a lot of curiousity about is other cultures and countries. I am curious to travel around the world and broaden my horizons.

Jerry Carlin said...

Get a passport my optimistic friend, everyone should have one, then when a hot airline fare comes by, you can be on your way and have dinner in Paris!

Patrycja (photoopassion) said...

Very cool blog. Interesting posts. ;)
Nice atmosphere guests with you here on the blog. ;]
Yours. Have a nice day. !

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Rama Ananth said...

I wonder, how come we can get so many good healthy food for 50 dollars, whereas the same amount spent in the US would hardly give anything worthwhile. Why do Indians who go to visit the US/ Europe always are converting the Euros and dollars in Indian rupees in their minds to see whether it is worth or not, and finally not buying the things they want to buy, feeling they can get it cheaper and of better quality in India itself?
Why do foreigners find it so easy to throw their money in India, why do Indians from America are not willing to pay the entrance fees that is meant for foreigners (that includes them also)when they visit historical places in India?
Why do we have such differences in this world?
Why don't we get any doles from the government like the Americans and the Canadians?
There are answers available for all these questions, only thing they do not seem t o be right.

Graciewilde said...

I am curious about so much! I can't stop thinking, investigating, creating, reading, There is so much. Okay, just for fun, I will give you ten specific items about which I am curious (and this might end up being a blog post all of it own...):
1) How can I write good poetry? 2) How did abstract expressionism evolve? 3) Can I really pull it off and go to New Zealand next January? 4) What would it be like if I could really cook? 5) related... What would it be like if I were able to expand taste buds and go for more kinds of food? 6) Is there any point in ever going to a doctor again? and your experience with cancer would suggest yes... 7) What IS that creature who comes into the kitchen some nights and nibbles on the bread on the counter? NOt one hint of scat or one piece of evidence to let me know - despite the sticky traps I have set 8) How does my camera work? 9) When am I going to learn how to maintain my cool? 10) Where did I leave my mind?