Sustained curiosity also protects against the drift into cynicism. Barbara Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory (2001) suggests that positive emotions widen attention and resources; curiosity, as a positive state, helps us see alternatives when complexity feels overwhelming. Similarly, Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset (2006) frames difficulty as a cue to learn rather than to retreat.
Thus, when fatigue or news-cycle despair threatens, returning to a curiosity habit reopens possibility: What else might be true? What’s the next experiment? In honoring Sontag’s injunction, we do not chase novelty; we practice disciplined attention that keeps understanding—and hope—alive. [...]
