An impressive number of graduate applications this year used the phrase “curiosity-driven approach” 🤔
January 17, 2026 at 10:06 PM
An impressive number of graduate applications this year used the phrase “curiosity-driven approach” 🤔
The collapse of curiosity driven research has occurred in STEM too. Everything has to be outcomes focused - cure disease, grow better crops, etc. But so much of what humanity has discovered is from "basic" curiosity-driven science. I'm hugely in favor of funding curiosity in every discipline.
February 13, 2026 at 3:53 PM
The collapse of curiosity driven research has occurred in STEM too. Everything has to be outcomes focused - cure disease, grow better crops, etc. But so much of what humanity has discovered is from "basic" curiosity-driven science. I'm hugely in favor of funding curiosity in every discipline.
“Science has no passport, no gender, no ethnicity, no political party.”
EC President Ursula von der Leyen, announcing a €500M initiative to attract top global talent.
In a fractured world, science remains a unifying force – rooted in diversity, driven by curiosity, and shared by all humanity.
EC President Ursula von der Leyen, announcing a €500M initiative to attract top global talent.
In a fractured world, science remains a unifying force – rooted in diversity, driven by curiosity, and shared by all humanity.
May 6, 2025 at 11:26 AM
“Science has no passport, no gender, no ethnicity, no political party.”
EC President Ursula von der Leyen, announcing a €500M initiative to attract top global talent.
In a fractured world, science remains a unifying force – rooted in diversity, driven by curiosity, and shared by all humanity.
EC President Ursula von der Leyen, announcing a €500M initiative to attract top global talent.
In a fractured world, science remains a unifying force – rooted in diversity, driven by curiosity, and shared by all humanity.
JCK is wrong & this article is ridiculous, but universities need to emphasize what makes higher education different than AI / tech companies, and the answer to that question is that which they have marginalized for decades: curiosity-driven, rather than market-driven knowledge.
During a time when American trust in institutions is at an all- time low, A.I. is poised to accelerate a growing disillusionment with higher education. www.newyorker.com/news/fault-l...
Will A.I. Make College Obsolete?
During a time when American trust in institutions is at an all- time low, A.I. is poised to accelerate a growing disillusionment with higher education.
www.newyorker.com
May 5, 2026 at 10:55 PM
JCK is wrong & this article is ridiculous, but universities need to emphasize what makes higher education different than AI / tech companies, and the answer to that question is that which they have marginalized for decades: curiosity-driven, rather than market-driven knowledge.
Hello @safety.bsky.app, here's a new pro-Russian disinfo bot network on Bluesky, which we're dubbing "Curiosity". It comprises over 300 accounts with identical bio text: "Driven by curiosity and a passion for exploring new ideas and technologies."
public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...
public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...
bsky_bot_accounts - jan 2 2025
A Flourish data visualization by Social Media Lab
public.flourish.studio
January 2, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Hello @safety.bsky.app, here's a new pro-Russian disinfo bot network on Bluesky, which we're dubbing "Curiosity". It comprises over 300 accounts with identical bio text: "Driven by curiosity and a passion for exploring new ideas and technologies."
public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...
public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...
Conversations about the future of higher education in the US need to start from the unfortunate, basic fact that both Democrats and Republicans agree with Reagan that government should not subsidize curiosity driven learning and inquiry.
May 7, 2026 at 3:26 PM
Conversations about the future of higher education in the US need to start from the unfortunate, basic fact that both Democrats and Republicans agree with Reagan that government should not subsidize curiosity driven learning and inquiry.
Who taught ChatGPT “curiosity-driven approach” and why shouldn’t you be shot out of a canon into the sun
January 17, 2026 at 10:40 PM
Who taught ChatGPT “curiosity-driven approach” and why shouldn’t you be shot out of a canon into the sun
Academia isn’t perfect, but it offers a rare space to pursue knowledge for its own sake. If research were fully privatized, only profit-driven questions would get asked. Yet many of the most transformative discoveries began as curiosity-driven inquiries whose value wasn’t clear for years.
April 20, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Academia isn’t perfect, but it offers a rare space to pursue knowledge for its own sake. If research were fully privatized, only profit-driven questions would get asked. Yet many of the most transformative discoveries began as curiosity-driven inquiries whose value wasn’t clear for years.
I’m driven almost entirely by whimsy, humor, curiosity, and spite
September 13, 2025 at 5:07 PM
I’m driven almost entirely by whimsy, humor, curiosity, and spite
Yes, you see, what he meant to say is that he is driven by curiosity about what it would be like to have more money.
Provost said - and this is an exact quote - "we are scholars, and we are driven by curiosity" and then proceeded to completely dismiss all forms of knowledge that don't bring in millions of dollars in grant money as useless if not burdensome.
May 8, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Yes, you see, what he meant to say is that he is driven by curiosity about what it would be like to have more money.
Just misread "curiosity driven science" as "cosplay driven science" and had a moment of confusion. What have you people done to my brain?
November 12, 2024 at 1:58 AM
Just misread "curiosity driven science" as "cosplay driven science" and had a moment of confusion. What have you people done to my brain?
(4) This leaves humanists in a bind because there is no political support for the idea of publicly funded curiosity driven humanities research. So how do we create that? How should a future Democratic administration rebuild the NEH?
February 13, 2026 at 2:57 PM
(4) This leaves humanists in a bind because there is no political support for the idea of publicly funded curiosity driven humanities research. So how do we create that? How should a future Democratic administration rebuild the NEH?
Curiosity. Ingenuity. Ambition.
Driven by a thirst for knowledge, the asura journeyed to Orr in pursuit of a force that would transform their civilization: magic.
Discover how they fit into Guild Wars 3.
🔗 bit.ly/45N1zc3
#GW3
Driven by a thirst for knowledge, the asura journeyed to Orr in pursuit of a force that would transform their civilization: magic.
Discover how they fit into Guild Wars 3.
🔗 bit.ly/45N1zc3
#GW3
August 27, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Curiosity. Ingenuity. Ambition.
Driven by a thirst for knowledge, the asura journeyed to Orr in pursuit of a force that would transform their civilization: magic.
Discover how they fit into Guild Wars 3.
🔗 bit.ly/45N1zc3
#GW3
Driven by a thirst for knowledge, the asura journeyed to Orr in pursuit of a force that would transform their civilization: magic.
Discover how they fit into Guild Wars 3.
🔗 bit.ly/45N1zc3
#GW3
2. Curiosity-driven research isn't just fun; it led us to develop tools that thousands of scientists use to find meaningful patterns in massive datasets (e.g. www.mapequation.org).
Separately, I've had the opportunity to be part of the largest collective intellectual effort in human history.
March 19, 2025 at 7:32 PM
2. Curiosity-driven research isn't just fun; it led us to develop tools that thousands of scientists use to find meaningful patterns in massive datasets (e.g. www.mapequation.org).
Separately, I've had the opportunity to be part of the largest collective intellectual effort in human history.
I'd like at add a few things to this. (1) humanists have not been able to convince any political party that curiosity-driven humanities research is a public good that should be funded using tax dollars. Republicans don't believe this, but neither do Democrats.
It's possible to do a non-reactionary critique of the current landscape of humanities research funding: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
Does humanities research matter anymore? (opinion)
The rapid collapse in available research funding is one crisis in the humanities we aren’t talking enough about, Asheesh Kapur Siddique writes.
www.insidehighered.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:57 PM
I'd like at add a few things to this. (1) humanists have not been able to convince any political party that curiosity-driven humanities research is a public good that should be funded using tax dollars. Republicans don't believe this, but neither do Democrats.
In the new book The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog, biologist Carly Anne York pushes back against attacks on curiosity-driven research.
Read the #ScienceBooks Review: scim.ag/3FAOmcX
Read the #ScienceBooks Review: scim.ag/3FAOmcX
In defense of silly science
A biologist pushes back against attacks on curiosity-driven research
scim.ag
June 12, 2025 at 3:12 PM
In the new book The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog, biologist Carly Anne York pushes back against attacks on curiosity-driven research.
Read the #ScienceBooks Review: scim.ag/3FAOmcX
Read the #ScienceBooks Review: scim.ag/3FAOmcX
If US politicians will decide what science is worth funding, this signals the end of genuine, curiosity-driven science & free equiry
August 7, 2025 at 10:25 PM
If US politicians will decide what science is worth funding, this signals the end of genuine, curiosity-driven science & free equiry
Most of my thinking is not driven by problem-solving.
It is primarily driven by curiosity and wondering. (Perhaps the ‘tism is involved…)
I fear we will lose a great deal if we reduce our conception of thinking as being only related to solving problems.
The questions are equally as important.
It is primarily driven by curiosity and wondering. (Perhaps the ‘tism is involved…)
I fear we will lose a great deal if we reduce our conception of thinking as being only related to solving problems.
The questions are equally as important.
September 20, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Most of my thinking is not driven by problem-solving.
It is primarily driven by curiosity and wondering. (Perhaps the ‘tism is involved…)
I fear we will lose a great deal if we reduce our conception of thinking as being only related to solving problems.
The questions are equally as important.
It is primarily driven by curiosity and wondering. (Perhaps the ‘tism is involved…)
I fear we will lose a great deal if we reduce our conception of thinking as being only related to solving problems.
The questions are equally as important.
Provost said - and this is an exact quote - "we are scholars, and we are driven by curiosity" and then proceeded to completely dismiss all forms of knowledge that don't bring in millions of dollars in grant money as useless if not burdensome.
May 8, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Provost said - and this is an exact quote - "we are scholars, and we are driven by curiosity" and then proceeded to completely dismiss all forms of knowledge that don't bring in millions of dollars in grant money as useless if not burdensome.
One of the major reasons we see defunding of science under the rise of christofascism—alongside its ability to erode fascism—is that capitalists are driven only by wealth, and do not fundamentally understand pursuits driven largely by curiosity. They assume there’s a profit-driven ulterior motive.
June 3, 2026 at 1:31 AM
One of the major reasons we see defunding of science under the rise of christofascism—alongside its ability to erode fascism—is that capitalists are driven only by wealth, and do not fundamentally understand pursuits driven largely by curiosity. They assume there’s a profit-driven ulterior motive.
(3) But the Democrat view is also bad: while it's fine for people at Princeton and Harvard to study Latin and Sanskrit, public higher education is about job training and $ ROI. There is no room for the idea that curiosity-driven inquiry is a good that should be supported by the public.
February 13, 2026 at 2:57 PM
(3) But the Democrat view is also bad: while it's fine for people at Princeton and Harvard to study Latin and Sanskrit, public higher education is about job training and $ ROI. There is no room for the idea that curiosity-driven inquiry is a good that should be supported by the public.
Make curiosity-driven science great again! 🧪
April 5, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Make curiosity-driven science great again! 🧪