Choose to be Curious

Cassini Nazir is an interaction design and user experience educator at the University of North Texas, specializing in integrating curiosity into design processes. He shares innovative strategies like curiosity journals and bookmarks to enhance user experiences. The conversation explores how curiosity can foster deep connections, especially when empathy falls short. Nazir also highlights the importance of designing for everyday interactions and examines creative analogies that inspire a culture of curiosity and exploration in design.

Summer's coming. Time to take that curiosity out for a little spin! Whether you're traveling far from home or enjoying a little "staycation," author, tour manager and explorer extraordinaire Andréa Seiger has tips for getting the most of your adventures. Why visit cemeteries, science associations and bus stops? Can you smell green? What do your knees see? Andréa is a delightful coach for our wandering curiosity muscles. Find Andréa Seiger on Instagram @UrbanSafariDC111 Theme music by Sean Balick; “Curio" by Vacant Distillery,, via Blue Dot Sessions.

"We live in an experimenting society" Nobel Laureate Saul Perlmutter reassures us, "The fact that we can use partial information and do better is actually one of our superpowers." Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense by Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell and Robert MacCoun takes the optimism and tools of science and helps us apply them to the everyday. They help us think about how we think, taking our values and fears into account, but not being overwhelmed by them. Third Millennium Thinking: https://thirdmillenniumthinking.com Photo by Jon Schainker. Used with permission. Theme music by Sean Balick; “Celestial Navigation" by Aeronaut, via Blue Dot Sessions.

It’s been ten years since self-described “questionologist" Warren Berger first published his best-selling book A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas. Now, more than ever, we need the power and importance of thoughtful — and, as he would say: beautiful — questions. And what of the intersection of curiosity and questions? What’s their relationship? And how might we leverage both, in service of the things we value? “The more curiosity there is, the better your questions will be…If your questions don’t have curiosity in them, then they’re almost like not even questions. They’re inauthentic.” ~ Warren Berger Find Warren Berger at: https://amorebeautifulquestion.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “The Envelope” by Aeronaut, via Blue Dot Sessions.

I came across the heading "DISCOVERY MATTERS" as I dug around the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's website and I knew I was on to something. Janet Coffey, Ph.D., directs the Moore Foundation's Curiosity-Driven Science Initiative. She aims to enhance opportunities for active public engagement with science as a means to help cultivate a curious and an open-minded public that appreciates, values and uses science. I was all ears. Check out the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Curiosity-Driven Science Initiative: https://www.moore.org Theme music by Sean Balick; “An Open is Ab" by Blue Nocturnal, via Blue Dot Sessions.

In his new and surprisingly uplifting book ASK:Tap Into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You for Unexpected Breakthroughs in Leadership and Life, Jeff Wetzler distills the many lessons he’s learned into a curiosity-centric approach – “The Ask Approach” – that offers a way for all of us to tap into our desire for connection and into the wisdom hiding in plain sight around us. It begins with choosing curiosity. Find the Ask Approach here: https://www.askapproach.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Reflectors" by Ray Catcher, via Blue Dot Sessions.

A few months ago, I got a text message from a friend: “I’m at a writing conference,” she typed, “listening to a panel of agents answer the question 'What are you looking for?'  Kayla’s answer began: 'I’m looking for fearless curiosity.'” Kayla Lightner is a writer and a literary agent with Ayesha Panda Literary. Together we explored how she knows "fearless curiosity" when she sees it; how agents partner with and champion writers; what about the job makes her come alive -- and her scariest power; being an open and adventurous reader; the indulgence of centering our curiosity; and coming into her own professional power with fearless curiosity. Check out Kayla Lightner at Ayesha Pande Literary: https://www.pandeliterary.com Theme music by Sean Balick; "Filing Away" by Crab Shack, via Blue Dot Sessions.

We talk a lot about questions here on Choose to Be Curious. But talking about questions is one thing, really wresting with them is another. Ken Woodward not only curates questions, he leans into them. Big time. And that has changed his life in ways large and small that are an inspiration to me. I think they will be for you, as well. “Wrestling with the questions has allowed me space for me to work through the emotions, the thoughts, the processing. All of that comes through questioning, doing some journaling, and kind of making my way through that challenge.” ~ Ken Woodward Check out Ken's Curated Questions: https://www.curatedquestions.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Four Point Path“ by The Bulwark, via Blue Dot Sessions.

The first in a series: looking at a place from multiple perspectives. I call it "A Mile in Their Shoes". We begin with people who have chosen to care for a bit of the Earth, the big-hearted, hard-working, fun-loving Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail. They have found community, purpose and lots to be curious about... Check out Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail: https://mountvernontrail.org Music by Warmbody, via Blue Dot Sessions Photo used with permission of Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail

I’ve been thinking that foraging – going from place to place looking for things one can eat – is a lot like the sampling and prioritizing of information gathering that neuroscientists are studying, just applied to things many of us readily dismiss as "weeds". Tama Matsuoka Wong is a finance lawyer turned professional forager. She got curious about the “weeds” around her when she moved to a fixer-upper house in northern New Jersey. She started to see them and their ecosystem differently. Now she forages for high-end chefs in Manhattan and is an advocate for thoughtful stewardship of what's naturally all around us. That struck me as a curiosity conversation worth having. Learn more about Tama Matsuoka Wong here: https://www.meadowsandmore.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Lakeside Path" by Duck Lake, via Blue Dot Sessions.