Curiosity. 2525 Responses

Last post: 1 year, 11 months ago | Thread started: Mar 12, 10, 10:40 a.m.

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• dMullins

  Why is it that so many people are irrefutably incapable of learning new things? Is it that they just get to a certain age, and give up on curiosity? I have a couple of people who I engage with at work and in a freelance capacity who are unable to open up to new ways of doing things. These people are supposed to be diversifying themselves to adapt to new technologies. These people are project managers, business owners, and supposedly, creatives. Yet when you try to get them involved in something new, they ball up into the fetal position, with their fingers planted firmly in their ears.

  Example. If you are a project manager for interactive work, I should not have to tell you how to clear cache, delete cookies, etc. in your browsers. Moreover, why don't they just Google it? Why call me with a simple question, when a simple Wikipedia search will not only give you your answer, but it will engage you with a wealth of sources for digging as deep as you want.

  I guess on one hand I understand the unwillingness—you are mired into a certain way of getting things done, and to change that could affect change on your efficiency. But on the other hand, if you don't try new things, you don't learn new things.

  I guess you just cannot teach people to be curious.

  Mar 12, 10, 10:40 a.m. – Permalink

• sequoia

  You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:41 a.m. – Permalink

• idiots

  http://www.nature.com/nature/jou…

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:42 a.m. – Permalink

• d_rek

  So you're PM needed to clear his porn cache and didn't want to get his hands dirty, huh?

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:42 a.m. – Permalink

• scarabin

  if you haven't noticed, most people in the world are mind bogglingly stupid.

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:45 a.m. – Permalink

• BattleAxe

  working in the Education field I see this every day , Administrators who work on a computer all day but do not know what Fire Fox is nor care to know . Seems like it is about delegating things you do not know to those who do, some non savvy people seem to have that luxury while those learning and adapting are the ones climbing the ladder ,

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:45 a.m. – Permalink

• ideaist

  It's HARD to learn / change and people are LAZY.

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:47 a.m. – Permalink

• gramme

  I think for many people, the stupidity is feigned since they don't want to have to deal with what they consider technical fussiness, i.e. work that is beneath them.

  • I used to work for someone like this. They hating doing things like manipulating bezier curves, and so pretended they didn't know how to use Illustrator.– gramme1/3

    know how to use Illustrator.– gramme2/3

    ... Actually, I've worked for several people like this.– gramme3/3

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:47 a.m. – Permalink

• detritus

  This one's easy - most people are fucking cretins.

  • Aha, beaten to it by The Scarabin.– detritus

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:50 a.m. – Permalink

• jfletcher

  once you're complacent (in knowledge or job), it's hard to change because there is no reason. That's why you look for people who are never complacent with their knowledge.

  In the US it's really hard to fire people in a lot of job, so it's easy to hang out and relax. Like how often do you see anyone working for the government or road crews rocking at their job... they’re slow and don’t care. When you do meet someone who works a job like that and they’re good, you go and tell everyone how awesome it was, because everyone else is so bad.

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:51 a.m. – Permalink

• monospaced

  I agree with you 100% dMullins. I am continually shocked by how little initiative and problem-solving people personally employ, especially since I have had to teach myself just about everything. Just look at the plethora of stupid questions and simple requests that get posted on QBN every single day.

  Anyone who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks is just making excuses. People are lazy, and there are fewer people who actually care why things are the way they are and/or why things work they way they do. If they bothered to learn, then the level of stupidity would drop, especially since the information is literally at their fingertips.

  I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for my high levels of curiosity.

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:52 a.m. – Permalink

• scarabin

  but probably because they lack the passion for what they do. people who love their chosen path eagerly teach themselves new things pertaining to it, while if i were flipping burgers i wouldn't give a fuck about learning to do it faster

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:53 a.m. – Permalink

• nbq

  I don't know and I don't wanna know....

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:53 a.m. – Permalink

• PonyBoy

  This is a big reason why I can't work in an office anymore.

  I LOVE to learn... love love love it. Put something 'cool' but difficult in front of me and I'll nerd it up into the middle of the night trying to understand it.

  The last studio I worked at - I kind of was 'known' for being that guy. I wasn't known as a good designer... but I was the tinkerer who would figure out the new camera, the new software... fix the tv...
  ... and I used to like being known as that guy... until I caught on to the fact that I was staying till 1am while others were bailing at 5 then showing up to see if I 'figured it out'...

  ... at the end of the day... 6, 7 years later - they're still the same... still working for someone and complaining about it... still stuck w/their lazy bad habits etc...

  ... and I'm at home playing w/my dog thinking about whether or not I want to work today. :)

  If it weren't for lazy people... I wouldn't do as well as I do... so - thank you, you lazy fucking bastards. :)

  • Nothing like geeking it up all night to solve a problem, right?– monospaced1/2

    I was also the problem-solver guy at a firm, so I know where you're coming from 100%.– monospaced2/2

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:54 a.m. – Permalink

• this

  adding firefox is like upgrading your tires or oil in your car, emptying your cache is like changing the oil yourself, some people see electronics as toys of the future, others see them as cumbersome additions to an already overcomplicated life. passion can not be taught or demanded

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 10:58 a.m. – Permalink

• clearThoughts

  Forget about tech, enjoy life.

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 11 a.m. – Permalink

• i_monk

  Forget about people, enjoy tech.

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 11:02 a.m. – Permalink

• monospaced

  It's not just tech. I recently dumped a girl because she just simply wasn't "curious" enough. What I mean is that she didn't think for herself. She didn't question the validity of astrology or feng shui, she essentially believed what she was told if she liked it. Conversations were dull. She was the kind of person that settled for how things were, and it probably extended to work.

  • She was stupid.– monospaced1/5

    Eww, what a boring person.– dMullins2/5

    monospaced? aye. boring as fuck.– bumdrizzle3/5

    wtf are you trying to say, bumdizzle?– monospaced4/5

    you're such a trail blazer. a true renaissance man.– sequoia5/5

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 11:05 a.m. – Permalink

• dMullins

  @this: Interesting way of putting it, and valid for sure, but when you work in a world of new, interesting, evolving, interactive technology, it's unacceptable to think this way. Yet somehow, people get by on it.

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 11:09 a.m. – Permalink

• Meeklo

  Example. If you are a project manager for interactive work, I should not have to tell you how to clear cache, delete cookies, etc. in your browsers. Moreover, why don't they just Google it? Why call me with a simple question, when a simple Wikipedia search will not only give you your answer, but it will engage you with a wealth of sources for digging as deep as you want.

  maybe they think that's why they pay you to do it for them...

  

  
  I mean.. maybe the janitor is posting on a forum right now, complaining on why don't you open to learn how to brush your toilet clean after using it, after all is so simple... but no.. they have to call me to do it...

  • This is like comparing Apples to Shitpiles.– dMullins1/4

    maybe.. but maybe not..– Meeklo2/4

    after all you assume they have no curiosity, but I think they have no intention to learn that specific task– Meeklo3/4

    Tasks. Many many tasks for working collaboratively, and learning.– dMullins4/4

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 11:12 a.m. – Permalink

• SteveJobs

  can someone paraphrase this thread for me? i can't be bothered to read it all... *yawn*

  • <– CALLES1/4

    I will successfully resume this thread in one note– Meeklo2/4

    guy is not happy about his boss making him do extra work, he wonders if its lack of curiosity on boss' side– Meeklo3/4

    google it
    – TheDrago4/4

  

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  Dog-earMar 12, 10, 11:13 a.m. – Permalink