Curiosity and Attention

Note: This was a major theme that emerged from Victoria (Spain)'s observation and sparked extensive chat discussion during the OGM 2025-11-06 call. While not a formal presentation topic, it generated one of the richest conversation threads.

The Core Question

Is curiosity declining, or is available attention declining?

Victoria's Observation

From her experience designing courses and leading workshops:

People willingly attend learning workshops
They say they're interested in learning
Yet when she posts conversation triggers in the community
Nobody responds

Conclusion: "Curiosity is dropping in our world"

Scott Moehring's Reframe

The Attention Hypothesis: "I'm wondering how much is a loss of available attention?"

Key insight: "I am a highly curious person, and yet I'm engaging less because I have less available attention."

Cause: "We have killed boredom with the constant stream of information everywhere"

Result: "I think one symptom shows up as a loss of curiosity"

Pete Kaminski's Three Theories

Pete is "torn between" three possible explanations:

Typical Human Development: People naturally become less curious as they grow up
Educational System Impact: Schools "train passion and agency out of people"
Social Contagion: Being incurious becomes "a way to deal with too much future"

The AI Test

Pete's observation about how the split manifests:

Curious people: "Use AI quickly as a bicycle (or jet plane) for the mind"

Incurious people: "Do the equivalent of trying to use the bicycle as a hammer or a chair, and discard it as terrible at the small uses they can think of"

Jerry Michalski's View

Blamed "the consumerization of our world, which dumbs us down"

Connection to Environmental Neurodiversity

Scott Moehring's hypothesis: The information flood has increased to where:

Neurotypical people now feel their filters are inadequate
They have no coping strategies
Meanwhile, people with ADD/autism have developed robust filtering techniques
These neurodiverse strategies may now be needed by everyone

Mike Nelson's Daughter

As a counterpoint, Mike shared that his 28-year-old daughter told him:

"The most important thing I have done for her has been instilling a deep sense of curiosity deep in her being"

This suggests curiosity can be cultivated and maintained across generations.

The Boredom Factor

Key insight from Scott: "We have killed boredom"

Boredom may be essential for:

Mind wandering
Creative thinking
Genuine curiosity
Deep engagement

Constant information streams eliminate the empty space where curiosity traditionally emerged.

Related to GABA and Filtering

Connects to Jerry Michalski's discussion of GABA and Filtering:

Modern life as constant stimulation
Filters working overtime
Need for cognitive "breathing room"
Relationship between overwhelm and curiosity

Implications

For Education

Need to create space, not just fill it
Cultivate genuine questions, not just answers
Protect attention as a resource

For Community Building

Design for attention constraints
Lower barrier to engagement
Accept that curiosity may need cultivation

For Tool Design

Remixability - lower cognitive load
Modular approaches
Enable creation despite attention limits

The Full Discussion

See Chat Thread - Curiosity Decline for the complete conversation thread with all participants.

Participants

Victoria (Spain) (raised the question)
Scott Moehring (attention hypothesis)
Pete Kaminski (three theories)
Jerry Michalski (consumerization)
Mike Nelson (daughter example)
Doug Breitbart (supported Scott)
Gil Friend (supported Pete)

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