Some time back, I was reading a religious blog and came
across a post that was concerned with something not within the ordinary for
such sites. The topic was curiosity and its near absence in the current
academic and scientific landscape. It referred to an online article, “How
Ignorance Fuels Science and the Evolution of Knowledge” which is commenting
on a book by Columbia biological sciences professor, Stuart Firestein, wrote
titled Ignorance: How It Drives
Science. Here is a bit from that post.
In an age obsessed with practicality, productivity, and efficiency, I frequently worry that we are leaving little room for abstract knowledge and for the kind of curiosity that invites just enough serendipity to allow for the discovery of ideas we didn’t know we were interested in until we are; ideas that we may later transform into new combinations with applications both practical and metaphysical . . . .
In his book, Firestein describes how grant applications for scientific research are now routinely denied on the grounds of being “curiosity-driven” — a term used in a pejorative sense whereas, ironically, it should describe the highest aspiration of science, something many a great scientist can speak to.
One of the things that I have tried to embrace in the past
few years is the search for truth and knowledge. This is not just some hobby. I
engage in it at my job. I work in US tax. More specifically, the US tax rules
relating to US taxpayers doing business outside of the United States.
