Mario Livio is a very well-known polymath, an astrophysicist
as well as an author known for writing books on different math and physics
related topics. I had read about this particular book on the New York Times,
the idea of exploring curiosity excited me immensely. A systematic look at why
we are curious and what the sciences tell us about our curiosity was a very
seductive topic indeed.
In the end, the final couple of chapters really redeemed the
book, as for the rest of the book, I cannot really put a finger on why the
material failed to engage my….curiosity, but it did not.
This is a thin book, not really an academic tome on the
science and history of curiosity, yet it retains that flavor throughout. Dr.
Livio is a good writer, and undertook a very logical and systematic approach to
telling the story, I expected no less from and eminent astrophysicist.
The first chapter examines the very human trait of being
curious. He very nicely and in the fine story telling fashion of these kind of
books to lay out the ground work for examining what curiosity is and what
curiosity means to him personally, as he is the primary investigator of this
book.
Three chapters are about people, people who has exhibited
the kind of intense curiosity that enticed Dr. Livio to examine the topic. Two
chapters tells the story of two legendary polymaths from the past: Leonardo da
Vinci and Richard Feynman. These were entertaining and knowledgeable chapters
telling the stories of the intellectual prowess of two remarkable men. He makes
the case that curiosity is what drove these men to the achievements that they
have accomplished. While they are not complete biographies of these two giants
of science and curiosity seekers, the two chapters fully drew my attention into
the story. Much later, Dr. Livio interviewed living polymaths, people who
exhibit the same kind of intense curiosity as Leonardo and Feynman. They are
living in the modern world, and their stories are similarly engaging, although
they are just a little less fascinating since they have yet to come to a
complete picture of the result of their curiosity since their productive life
is far from over.
A very scientifically satisfying and thorough examination of
curiosity was undertaken through the usual process of reviewing and encapsulating
the most recent research being done in the sciences. A substantial chapter was
devoted to the anthropology of curiosity, two chapters were devoted to a
competent review of what we know about curiosity from the psychological and
neuroscience aspects of the topic. A chapter was devoted to the human love of
curiosity, a historical look at our civilization and how curiosity drives us
into achieving what we have achieved as a civilization. In the end two chapters
were devoted to asking the question Why Curiosity and an epilogue which nicely
summarizes the book.
I liked the organization, I liked the approach, and it
should have been quite an easy sell to me, but it was challenging for me to
completely engage in the stories and studies. I would postulate that Dr. Livio made his case
in a pretty clinical way. The psychological studies, as well as the
neuroscience chapters were kind of a slog because I was not familiar with those
areas and I was struggling with some of the conclusions and arguments. I am not
sure if doing more with what he had or whether doing less with what he had
would have helped. I think I still would have had a challenging time. Perhaps
in skimming over the book after some time had passed would do the trick.
Indeed, I am very glad that this book was written and at
least this was placed in the popular literature for the sake of posterity. I
believe that it is a capable and informative book on the subject of curiosity,
which made me curious and being curious, which after all is what the purpose of
the book is supposed to be.
