Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Did Curiosity Really Kill The Cat?

I did a post along similar lines some time ago... as long as I can remember there have been questions running around in my head creating havoc. It's like guilt and curiosity are two traits that I have been blessed [?] with, in abundance.

One of my fellow bloggers, paisley whose blogs I enjoy immensely, left me a comment that actually inspired this post... she said I asked too many questions and that I should follow my heart... but sometimes, actually most of the times, my head won't let me. Even if I could fool it and hide for a while it would still win ultimately, and make me question everything that my heart was telling me.

According to Wikipedia my curiosity falls under the umbrella of 'morbid curiosity'
A morbid curiosity is a compulsion, fixed with excitement and fear, to know about macabre topics, such as death and horrible violence. In a milder form, however, this can be understood as a cathartic form of behavior or as something instinctive within humans. According to Aristotle, in his Poetics, we even “enjoy contemplating the most precise images of things whose sight is painful to us”. (This aspect of our nature is often referred to as the 'Car Crash Syndrome' or 'Trainwreck Syndrome', derived from the notorious inability of passersby to ignore such accidents.)
So how do I stop this trainwreck if indeed it is a train wreck....

What should I term this constant love affair with asking questions? curiosity? vanity? indulgence or simply stupidity?

I call it an affair because I love when questions are asked and an answer is given which leads to more questions and more answers... we keep going round and round in circles and that's when you feel most alive and vibrant, your heart thumping... your senses sharp.. adrenaline taking you to another level....

Maybe it's like a high you don't want to end....

You have this relationship with very few people - the one in which all you do is question everything under the sun and debate...and hours melt away like minutes. I have relationships like this with perhaps only three people... the rest are just filled with mundane stuff and inane ramblings about the day-to-day drudgery that life can be at times...

I feel that the minute you stop discovering or asking questions is the minute you start getting old and stop growing.... maybe this is one my fears and so I constantly keep going around my head in circles...

I don't know thats yet another question...





P.S.: No cats were harmed during the writing of this post although Greg did try to kick them... he didn't succeed

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I share that curiosity with you. I will answer and debate any topic you want. I will even answer your question on my blog, "Does love conquer all?" :)

No Reply said...

Everyone has questions, but most are afraid to ask them. The rest are afraid of the answers.

I do have a cat, btw. And, it's still alive.

Loz said...

One of my favourite TV shows is The Wonder Years - maybe just because of the title. I never want to lose that desire to learn and you can't learn if you don't ask questions. Now that statement will probably only make sense to people who felt the same way about the growing up years as I did. I have often wondered if I have actually left them behind me, or if in fact they just keep coming back again as you get older.

Unknown said...

Jeff: I will wait for that post...

Greg: I just saw your cat... very cute.. hope you don't kick it to get the answers ;)

Loz: I think they never leave some people and thats the most wonderful gift to have.. I would love to think like a child... not to have preconceived notions in my head that stop me from seeing things with perspectives other than ones I hold deeply.

Tawnya Shields said...

I am one of those seekers! This world has so many things to learn about. I have never understood those who do not ask and go blindly along numb t olearning everything they can. I guess I am one of those high on information but I don't want cured, I love being curious!

Blur Ting said...

You're a thinker. That's why you totally deserve the Thinking Blog award!

Anonymous said...

I answered it, but not in a post. Just in the comments. Maybe I should have done a whole post about it.

Anonymous said...

hmmmm...Amber if u get the answers ...do let me know..have been trying to find these answers for ages..

paisley said...

if continuing to question everything was a sign of immortal youth... not a soul would be over 25.......

it is not so much whether or not you continue to question,,, but rather,, the desire to know,, that i feel is the spring of youth eternal...

there is no one more "stunted" than some one that knows it all.....

Epimenides said...

I'm full of questions, too! About everything! From the trivial to the unexplained. Then again, I would be, being Epimenides, one of the great minds. ;)

Anonymous said...

I agree with Paisley. It's the deep and sincere desire for knowledge that drives growth.

...and it's a ton of fun to participate in the quest!

Anonymous said...

better to ask. (I don't ask too many questions because as Greg has pointed out, I am AFRAID of the answers.)

Anonymous said...

This is one of those things that's best left on its own. That curiosity is a part of you and you can't change it. You can try, but it's not going away; if it did you'd be bored stiff, wouldn't know what to do, and nothing would be very much fun anymore.

tigergirl said...

My Mother says one of my first words was 'why' - it drove her crazy!! "Why would someone ask why the sky is blue? It just is!!" I'm still driving her crazy ........ just not with the questions, I've found more reliable sources for info these days.

Unknown said...

Titania: I sometimes wish I could let things go and accept them at face value

Blur ting: Thank you

Jeff: I went back and read it

dream catcher: the operative word being 'if'

paisley: you would continue to question only if you had the desire to know? right?

Unknown said...

epimenides:...you said it yourself ;)


hollygl:Sometimes I do wonder if ignorance would be bliss?


meleah rebeccah:There are some questions even I don't want the answers to... so they are buried very DEEP


fb: I know... sometmes its a lot of fun discovering and at other times... well.. its not so much fu

tigergirl: I know what would we do without the internet ;)