Are you a curious person?

[sunnysally]

Flamingos came up at work the other day and I mentioned how they are only pink because of their diet. My coworker said I was weird because I always know random facts about things. I can't help myself. I love trivia and will often dig deeper into things I learn. Or, if I am traveling, I start by learning general historical and cultural facts but often fall down a rabbit hole of information. I think I also have a better memory than many people so the facts stick in my brain. I would only consider myself a subject matter expert on narrow topics related to my profession but I feel like I have a lot of general knowledge about a wide variety of things.

Do you do this? Do you do it only with specific topics or most topics? 

[georgeglass]

Yes. It is one of my favorite things about myself.

[isabel]

Not particularly, but DH is and I pick up a lot of things, like your flamingo fact, from him. He knows all kinds of random things and loves to learn about a huge variety of topics.

I’m pretty content to focus my energy on the topics that are most important to me and I don’t intentionally explore much beyond those.

[maudefindlay]

Yes, I Google random stuff all the time because I just want to know. Mostly related to history, but entertainment too. You are not weird, you are interesting. I'd rather talk to someone with knowledge on things I don't know so I can learn from them.

[konapoppy]

I am incredibly curious about people.

But I can’t retain random facts for shit.

[Pibs]

Yes! But I also have the memory retention of a flea so I can never remember the exact details of anything.

[heygrey]

I think I am, but it also comes from working with kids who are curious so my answer to 90% of their questions are "Lets google that!" and I learn along with them.

[nicolewi]

Yes, many people in my family are like this. I think used to remember a lot more trivia in my 20s/early 30s (I'm 48). Now all my brain space is occupied by stuff like when forms are due, kid event dates, and who needs which clothes/shoes in which sizes purchased this week!

My son has a truly amazing brain for this stuff and remembers an insane amount. He was really into WWII for a while and I swear he's like an expert now. Any questions we have, we just ask him. He has never even had the unit in school and when he does, I'm sure he will know as much or more than the teacher.

[dancingirl21]

Yes, absolutely. I want to know all the things. It doesn't mean I remember everything, but I often wonder what I did before Google.

[gummybear]

Yes! I am a bottomless fountain of (mostly useless but very interesting) information. I've had countless people tell me I am "really smart" because I know so much about a variety of topics. HOWEVER - like others, I do not retain information I find uninteresting. It flies in my head and right out. If I find something interesting I will soak up all the important facts and theories about it and remember it forever. Unfortunately for me, most of what I find interesting is not something that lends itself to careers or being productive But I am an excellent conversationalist and very engaging in most social situations!

[fortnightlily]

Oct 7, 2023 12:26:53 GMT -5 nicolewi said:

I think used to remember a lot more trivia in my 20s/early 30s (I'm 48). Now all my brain space is occupied by stuff like when forms are due, kid event dates, and who needs which clothes/shoes in which sizes purchased this week!

I feel this so hard.  Yes, I'm naturally intellectually curious and I know a lot of random stuff, but my memory has never been wonderful and since becoming a parent, especially for recent events/conversations/whatever, it has really tanked. My son makes fun of me and has a great memory and I'm like, listen kid, you have a lot more space in there! I have a backlog To Do list a mile long that is constantly burning my battery power.

[minzy]

Yes! I consider myself a lifelong learner and always like finding out more about xyz. I seriously remember being this way when I was a kid in Montessori at like 3. Keeps life interesting!

[pixy0stix]

All the information, all the time is my life motto.

[fernweh]

Yes. If I hear something i find interesting I will Google the heck out of it until I know everything there is to know.

[Jalapeñomel]

I teach science. I’m curious about every thing.

[VillainV]

Yes I am, and I’m constantly surprised when I run into people who aren’t. Sure, I have gaps in my knowledge (especially pop culture trivia) but I thought it was fairly common knowledge that flamingos are pink because of their diet, so anyone who didn’t know that I would assume was basically living under a rock.

[JayhawkGirl]

Very much, even pre-internet. A few years ago, a new friend was talking and as a side note said, JayhawkGirl I love your curious mind. It clicked. It’s the perfect word for me. My maternal grandpa was the same.

[Nonny]

Yes. This is me.

[sunnysally]

Jalapeñomel, I am also a scientist though now I work in QA. I always thought it was a scientist thing to be curious, but my coworker has a degree in microbiology. Having access to the internet and then getting a smart phone has been so incredible. I remember going to the library to find books to answer my questions but now it is all literally in my hand. What a time to be alive! Well, except for the shitshow of the world that has me doom scrolling many days, but that is another topic.

[mcppalmbeach]

Oh yes so much so. But mostly for useless things. Like I love to know about people. If I meet you I will know your life story in 10 minutes. I do gripe that my biggest complaint about my kids is that they have zero intellectual curiosity. Less than zero. No interest in how things work or why they work that way or what came first or literally any of it.

[tacokick]

Yes and I have a great memory so there is a lot floating around in there!

[sunnysally]

tacokick, your posts have probably sent me down more rabbit holes than any other poster. I have learned so much about fiber arts and equipment and I am not at all crafty!

[thebreakfastclub]

That flamingo fact is 1000% something I didn't know and would never care to know.

[strawberry]

Yes, very.

[gummybear]

Oct 7, 2023 13:23:09 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

That flamingo fact is 1000% something I didn't know and would never care to know.

So, I knew this...and...I also knew that the Philadelphia Zoo was the first institution to replicate the feeding requirements of pink flamingoes in order for them to get the classic pink hue. That had never been done in captivity until the zoo did it.

I know this because I went down rabbit hole last week, researching if the zoo ever had giant pandas. I have a foggy memory of giant pandas and I wasn't quite sure if it was accurate, so I was deep diving into the history of the zoo and got sidetracked by that fact. And FTR, I emailed the zoo and they never had giant pandas so my memory is the Mandela effect. 

This is why my brain never rests.

[wildrice]

Yes. For example, I have read so many posts on this board that have absolutely nothing to do with anything I will ever do (i.e. a lot of kid posts) but I just like knowing things. I especially like hearing what other people are up to and experiencing - I find people and all the different ways people live very interesting. I also enjoy history and one of my favorite parts of travel is learning all about the history and culture of places.

However, my memory is terrible and I feel like I'm getting worse at trivia instead of better as I get older. I sometimes joke that it's more fun that way - I am constantly learning new things, even things I've learned before!

[HRH Queen Dick I, Orphan]

💯 I google shit all day long. I'm googling actors while I'm watching a show and googling facts while I'm reading a book. I'd google in the movies if it was allowed. The other two mock me about it. Cretins.

[HRH Queen Dick I, Orphan]

.

[tacokick]

Oct 7, 2023 13:20:48 GMT -5 sunnysally said:

tacokick, your posts have probably sent me down more rabbit holes than any other poster. I have learned so much about fiber arts and equipment and I am not at all crafty!

That’s so funny! Hopefully it was time well spent!

[SwimDeep]

When I was bored as a kid I would pick an encyclopedia and browse it for hours. It fascinated me that there was so much to know.

As an adult, my attitude has not changed. I am always curious to learn/try/eat/watch something new.

Never stop learning!