Reclaiming Our Curiosity

00:00:14: Hello and welcome back.

00:00:16: This is the reflection episode following The End of Why I was just about to put it into my opening for workshop again, i've heard it many times.

00:00:28: It served as a good icebreaker.

00:00:31: Did you know that our attention span has shrunk to be lower than that of goldfish?

00:00:36: Eight seconds!

00:00:37: Apparently one second less then a Goldfish.

00:00:44: I'd watch them smile while i was thinking, gotcha!

00:00:47: You're paying attention now.

00:00:49: So last year when i was preparing for a new workshop... ...I caught myself thinking is that actually true?

00:00:56: Maybe it was the childhood memory of the two goldfish i had?

00:01:00: or then i just returned from another diving holiday and figured that.. ..i already spent over four hundred hours exploring the underwater world.

00:01:10: so when i caught myself about a repeat that claim, about a fish and us.

00:01:16: My curiosity nudged me to check.

00:01:19: so I went looking for the source turned out it's a myth maybe you already knew.

00:01:25: then here is more interesting question how did become popular knowledge?

00:01:31: The claim traces back marketing report from two thousand fifteen has actually measured a goldfish's attention span.

00:01:46: So it is made-up statement that our attention span was in decline, repeated often enough to become common knowledge.

00:01:54: It didn't come from neuroscience or cognitive research – it came form a marketing report cited by a marketing data company and then used by marketeers to justify the content design that fragments today.

00:02:09: Shorter content faster cuts smaller windows for thinking, for ourselves.

00:02:15: The belief justified the environment created... ...the environment made the believe feel true and it's easily overlooked.

00:02:24: who benefits when we accept that story?

00:02:27: Last year a well-known novelist gave her talk at the Hay Festival where she shared something telling For her first TED Talk back in two thousand ten.

00:02:38: She was given nineteen minutes.

00:02:41: A decade later, she was told to keep it till thirteen.

00:02:44: When asked why?

00:02:46: The answer that she got is the world's average attention span has shrunk!

00:02:51: So even Ted –the place where ideas worth spreading live–has quietly been trimming down.

00:02:58: Speakers given less time to present an idea.

00:03:01: Audiences giving less space to follow them because of a belief.

00:03:05: they've travelled through serious media outlets without further checking.

00:03:11: That is what I talked about in my first episode, The Lazy Human.

00:03:16: Our beliefs shaping the environment we create and turning into self-fulfilling prophecies.

00:03:22: If we believe our attention span has shrunk We accept an environment that no longer allows for reflection and pause.

00:03:30: Curiosity is not a personality trait.

00:03:33: It's a skill which can either nourish or cultivate Or destroy with environments where we create or help to sustain.

00:03:41: If you want to know why I'm saying that we have started this in our education systems and workplaces way before social media and AI arrived, tune into the main episode The End of Why.

00:04:07: Like most people, I think i believed it because something about it felt true.

00:04:12: Doesn't our world feel more rushed and more scattered?

00:04:15: like all information needs to come in bite sizes Do we not reach quickly for our phone for an immediate answer instead of just wondering About Something on Our Own For a while?

00:04:27: And isn't It True that our social connections suffer from the lack Of Time?

00:04:31: We would need To invest In Real Connections & Meaningful Conversations.

00:04:37: So the myth actually felt real.

00:04:39: And because I could relate to it and even use it, i didn't check?

00:04:44: That is behavior worth noticing!

00:04:46: Because we all do it We connect dots quickly.

00:04:49: We accept explanations that fit our environment... ...and serve a purpose But we confuse recognition with evidence.

00:04:58: It sounds familiar therefore must be true.

00:05:01: The same move happening right now on much bigger scale.

00:05:05: People accepting the story that AI will entirely replace human work because a lot about it feels true.

00:05:12: Our work has become increasingly transactional, engagement has been dropping for decades.

00:05:18: something is clearly wrong and AI certainly showing us how can easily replace alot of things we consider to be Human Work And often do faster better and supposedly cheaper.

00:05:31: but I would argue that we have not fully understood all the parts of human work, that hold value.

00:05:38: That contributed to how we got this far and that AI cannot replace.

00:05:43: We should definitely become very curious about these capabilities again.

00:05:48: So before any other reflection or practice I want you do the following Keep an eye on when a story is doing too much work on You.

00:05:58: Notice When something feels true so quickly.

00:06:03: That is where our curiosity has to come back the most.

00:06:07: Now, let's get into practice and we'll start with you because it cannot bring back curiosity in others if you aren't curious yourself.

00:06:16: The reflection I want to offer you is this Think about that last time You were certain about something And It turned out be wrong.

00:06:24: Not a big professional misjudgment.

00:06:26: Something smaller A person who was read A strong opinion he held That softened or a prediction that didn't come true.

00:06:35: Something you believe got updated, just like my belief in the goldfish myth!

00:06:40: And now think about what you could have noticed earlier if you'd been more curious.

00:06:45: We primarily track when we're right.

00:06:47: Remember hindsight bias from last week's episode The Confidence Trap?

00:06:52: Looking back our brain rewrites our success stories.

00:06:55: They start to feel as though they predicted future Like everything was fully on hand.

00:07:00: This builds false confidence for future outcomes.

00:07:05: And the act of uncovering the moments where we were wrong rebuilds our humility muscle, because humility connects to curiosity!

00:07:15: This reflection is the act.

00:07:17: admitting that you don't know everything and get curious to explore the gap – turn it into a habit.

00:07:24: You can track in a Curiosity Journal.

00:07:27: using an actual notebook makes sense but you can build it in whichever form you like, though a real journal written by hand helps to slow down because often this is the part that curiosity needs most.

00:07:40: Let me give you another reflection for your Curiosity Journal.

00:07:44: I call it Keep Asking.

00:07:46: In the main episode The End of Why I said Knowledge Today Is Just a Prompt Away.

00:07:52: That sounds Like A Benefit.

00:07:54: It Mostly Is But it's also convenience that easily replaces our own thinking and reduces curiosity to go beyond the immediate answer.

00:08:04: We get curious about something, AI returns a well-reasoned and structured answer – And we accept what comes back!

00:08:12: The challenge of this convenience?

00:08:14: You probably know how the way you phrase your question shapes us back… A Question we ask other people influences their response.

00:08:24: Think about asking someone, how are you?

00:08:27: The answer is often fine good busy.

00:08:31: Now think about asking the same person.

00:08:34: What's on your mind right now?

00:08:36: They answer will most likely be different.

00:08:39: So the framing of the question Indicates what kind of answer you want the surface level or a deeper connection?

00:08:49: Searches we run online also surface results that match our framing.

00:08:55: And the books we pull over shelf are often, The ones Our thinking reached for.

00:09:01: With AI in our pockets this matters more than ever.

00:09:05: Large language models do not think the way We Do.

00:09:09: What they do is predict Token by token –the most likely continuation of whatever you have typed.

00:09:16: They're drawing on enormous amounts Of human written text That was used to train them.

00:09:22: They are not reasoning, they're reproducing the shape of reasoning and they do it extremely well.

00:09:30: This distinction matters because the framing of a question you ask is what determines which patterns the model reaches for in its response.

00:09:40: A surface-question pulls surface patterns –a question that goes deeper pulls patterns from texts written by people who themselves were going deeper And there's nothing wrong with that.

00:09:54: Surface answers are often what we need to start with, the practice of keep asking is about going deeper.

00:10:03: Let me show you by going back to The Goldfish Myth.

00:10:07: I already mentioned why i never questioned it and preparing for that workshop meant I was working and needed a quick answer.

00:10:15: So I typed Is It True That The Attention Span Of Humans Has Shrunk To Be Lowered than that of a goldfish.

00:10:22: The debunking followed in seconds, question answered.

00:10:26: chat closed keep working but my curiosity was quietly nudging me with new questions.

00:10:33: how did this belief establish itself?

00:10:35: why didn't I not question it?

00:10:37: How can the attention span on fish be measured and how can these be compared to humans?

00:10:43: such moments are easily brushed aside.

00:10:46: our curiosity doesn't ask hey is there's good moment for you right now?

00:10:50: It usually catches us in the most inconvenient situations.

00:10:55: I was about to lose these questions too, but then decided just note them down for later and returned when i had finished my work.

00:11:04: That is whole practice of keep asking.

00:11:08: Don't Lose The Questions Keep Them In Your Curiosity Journal Because What I Got When I Asked These Questions Later Was Worth Every Minute Spent especially the part about why it became popular knowledge.

00:11:23: The Goldfish myth was born inside a marketing report, It was repeated by an industry that profits from the belief That our attention is broken and has been used to shape an environment that reduces our attention further And this not just tiktok or instagram as the TED story clearly showed its in all of media even on our conversations.

00:11:47: I recently noticed more podcasts keeping episodes below fifteen minutes.

00:11:52: Plant the belief that human attention is in decline, build the products that exploit the believe.

00:11:58: That's a pattern!

00:11:59: The belief and environment have been feeding each other for over decade.

00:12:04: So well done Attention Economy!

00:12:12: And maybe I would have also tried to compress my episodes to fifteen minutes or less.

00:12:17: But, i know how learning works and as mentioned in the main episode... ...I'm willing to fight against our curiosity & learning being deliberately destroyed!

00:12:28: And by-the way… The goldfish myth isn't the only one.

00:12:32: The pattern shows up more once you start looking.

00:12:36: Think of a claim that we used ten percent of our brain repeated for decades used by every brain training app and productivity guru to sell us the idea that we can unlock The Other Ninety.

00:12:49: It was never true, the brain is far more utilized than that but it has been so useful to the industry that profits from us believing We are smaller.

00:12:59: then we Are!

00:13:01: This Is Why Curiosity Matters Now More Than Ever When you bring back and nourish well And to question the tools and environments we are given a little bit more.

00:13:17: The other half of this episode is about how to spark curiosity in people around you.

00:13:23: I want give you two most important things.

00:13:26: First, model not knowing.

00:13:29: Most leaders have been trained over whole career To look like they always had answer.

00:13:35: We learn early that confidence essential leadership.

00:13:40: Tune into my episode the confidence trap to hear when this becomes a problem.

00:13:46: Too much confidence kills curiosity faster than anything else, because curiosity needs not knowing to exist!

00:13:55: If everyone is performing certainty and confidence there is no gap worth exploring.

00:14:01: so the practice I'm giving you This is the practice of confident humility in public.

00:14:15: Don't just admit a knowledge gap to yourself, share it with others because not only does it invite others to share their knowledge – It also builds the trust they need.

00:14:25: do this same Because if you only model certainty and confidence They will stay away from showing you The Knowledge Gap they have.

00:14:34: And how do want help them learn & develop If don't know what's missing?

00:14:38: They will also not admit to mistakes easily and bring in ideas early.

00:15:08: Don't go there again.

00:15:10: It is the responsibility of a leader to protect that space, so slow down.

00:15:15: show.

00:15:16: The question matters independent Of how obvious?

00:15:19: The answer may be for you and even the rest of the team.

00:15:23: catch the reactions in the room And if necessary address them one-to-ones and then ask the person what made You think of that.

00:15:32: maybe your onboarding wasn't as good as he thought And what seems to be obvious for you and everyone else in the room is not for The New Joiner.

00:15:40: Inviting questions, making it safe-to-ask are key practices.

00:15:45: They're small but consistent signals that say thinking out loud is welcome here... ...and questions are welcome.

00:15:54: Modeling the Not Knowing & Protecting the Space Are the Foundation To Build Curious Teams Done together?

00:16:01: repeatedly they begin to shift the environment and something else starts to grow beside curiosity.

00:16:08: That is what the next episode is about, trust!

00:16:12: It's a connective tissue we always talk about but we rarely acknowledge how easily it can be broken... ...and how hard it is to build and maintain.

00:16:23: that's The Reflection Episode for this week.

00:16:25: if you enjoyed it do me a favor and leave a review.

00:16:29: share it with someone who still believes the goldfish and ten percent brain use myths or who could simply use a curiosity notch.

00:16:39: So stay curious, stay tuned!

00:16:42: Thanks for tuning into the New World Playbook where work gets better because people matter.