Why?

What Makes Us Curious

By: Mario Livio

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio investigates perhaps the most human of all our characteristics—curiosity—in this “lively, expert, and definitely not dumbed-down account” (Kirkus Reviews) as he explores our innate desire to know why.

Experiments demonstrate that people are more distracted when they overhear a phone conversation—where they can know only one side of the dialogue—than when they overhear two people talking and know both sides. Why does half a conversation make us more curious than a whole conversation?

“Have you ever wondered why we wonder why? Mario Livio has, and he takes you on a fascinating quest to understand the origin and mechanisms of our curiosity. I thoroughly recommend it.” (Adam Riess, Nobel Prize Winner in Physics, 2011). Curiosity is not only at the heart of mystery and suspense novels, it is also essential to other creative endeavors, from painting to sculpture to music. It is the principal driver of basic scientific research. Even so, there is still no definitive scientific consensus about why we humans are so curious, or about the mechanisms in our brain that are responsible for curiosity.

In the ever-fascinating Why? Livio interviewed scientists in several fields to explore the nature of curiosity. He examined the lives of two of history’s most curious geniuses, Leonardo da Vinci and Richard Feynman. He also talked to people with boundless curiosity: a superstar rock guitarist who is also an astrophysicist; an astronaut with degrees in computer science, biology, literature, and medicine. What drives these people to be curious about so many subjects?

An astrophysicist who has written about mathematics, biology, and now psychology and neuroscience, Livio has firsthand knowledge of his subject which he explores in a lucid, entertaining way that will captivate anyone who is curious about curiosity.

Fantastic, Makes You Think

Going into this book, I was looking for a narrative about what curiosity is, and what it means for us as humans. This is exactly that, and it's fantastic. It's more of Livio's notes about curiousity than an actual overview, and I think that's what make me like it more.

It's engaging enough that I REALLY enjoyed it, and Morey's delivery was well crafted. It's the first narration of his that I've really enjoyed.

Good doce into Curiosity

The author Tales us to a journey in the know and unknown of curiosity, bringing the ins and outs of famous personalities.
In the final chapters it show questions (and few) answers that science os trying to answers about curiosity.
Good lecture...