Shop top categories that ship internationally
$13.99 with 26 percent savings
Print List Price: $18.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Hachette Book Group. Price set by seller.
Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.

Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Ian Leslie
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It Kindle Edition

by Ian Leslie (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 751 ratings
See all formats and editions
A fun yet provocative look at the importance of staying curious in an increasingly indifferent world

Everyone is born curious. But only some retain the habits of exploring, learning, and discovering as they grow older. Those who do so tend to be smarter, more creative, and more successful. But at the very moment when the rewards of curiosity have never been higher, it is misunderstood and undervalued, and increasingly monopolized by the cognitive elite. A "curiosity divide" is opening up.

In Curious, Ian Leslie makes a passionate case for the cultivation of our "desire to know." Drawing on fascinating research from psychology, economics, education, and business, Leslie looks at what feeds curiosity and what starves it, and finds surprising answers. Curiosity is a mental muscle that atrophies without regular exercise and a habit that parents, schools, and workplaces need to nurture.

Filled with inspiring stories, case studies, and practical advice, Curious will change the way you think about your own mental life, and that of those around you.
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    242 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Basic Books
  4. Publication date
    August 26, 2014
  5. File size
    764 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
Next slide of product details

Editorial Reviews

Review

Rich with insight and answers. Leslie writes with conviction and authority, illuminating issues in psychology, social trends, and politics.... A delightful read.

-- "San Francisco Book Review"

About the Author

Ian Leslie writes on psychology, social trends, and politics for publications in the UK and US, including Slate, the Economist, NPR, Bloomberg.com, the Guardian, the Daily Mail, the London Times, the Daily Telegraph, and Granta.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00JZBA9N8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books (August 26, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 26, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 764 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 242 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 751 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Ian Leslie

Ian Leslie

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Hello! I'm Ian Leslie. I'm a British writer. I've written for the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Economist and others, but my real passion is writing books. I'm fascinated by human beings - by the creative, insightful, perverse, wilful creatures we are. In each of my last three books - BORN LIARS, CURIOUS, CONFLICTED (now titled 'How To Disagree' in the UK) I hold some aspect of human psychology or behaviour up to the light and examine it from many angles, seeking out the most fascinating insights from experts, then bringing this stew to the bubble with stories from real life. My aim to make you see what you thought you knew afresh. My new book, JOHN & PAUL is something of a departure. It tells one story: the story of the friendship between John Lennon and Paul McCartney; a friendship which changed the world. Fundamentally, I'm still doing the same thing: delving into a deeply human story, and showing you what you thought you knew in a whole new light.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
751 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and thought-provoking. They describe it as an informative, engrossing read that provides insightful information and analogies. The book explores the concept of curiosity in a well-crafted way.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
ReadabilityThought provoking
39 customers mention "Readability"35 positive4 negative

Customers find the book engaging and informative. They say it's well-written, with nice quotations to keep. Readers mention it should be read by teachers and parents.

"...I just finished it. A definite 5 Stars. Smartly written, solidly argued, drawing from a substantive breadth of credible citation sources, many of..." Read more

"...by linguist Geoffrey Pullum as "impeccable, syntactically, semantically, logically, and rhetorically."..." Read more

"...All this adds up to a book that is essential reading. It is also easy to read. I recommend it." Read more

"...Readability: excellent, interesting, and well-rounded." Read more

31 customers mention "Thought provoking"31 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful and interesting. They say it explores the concept of curiosity and provides great information and analogies. Many consider it an eye-opener that challenges them to reevaluate their approach to everyday life. The book provides useful tips for further reading.

"...Smartly written, solidly argued, drawing from a substantive breadth of credible citation sources, many of whom I was aware of, some delightfully new..." Read more

"...His main intent is to argue that such curiosity is vital to success in life; and, by dint of rigorous research, he succeeds in making this point...." Read more

"...Readability: excellent, interesting, and well-rounded." Read more

"The author does a wonderful job explaining the ins and outs of curiosity which is not easy since there are a fair amount of books on this topic out..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • @BobbyGvegas
    5.0 out of 5 stars Every teacher in America should read this book.
    Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I liked this book from the start. Initially I thought "looks like four stars for sure." I just finished it. A definite 5 Stars. Smartly written, solidly argued, drawing from a substantive breadth of credible citation sources, many of whom I was aware of, some delightfully new to me. What is particularly refreshing is the author's smooth connecting of the myriad dots. His firm grasp of a cogent argument becomes more and more obvious with each passing page.

    Had I Bill Gates' money, I'd buy a copy for every teacher in the U.S. and require that each read it -- and be tested on it as a component of certification. The topic is extremely important. We risk permitting a vast expansion of a chronic (and increasingly restive) "cognitive underclass" who will be unable to compete and contribute to modern society.

    As I emailed to the author:
    __

    "Ian,

    I bought the Kindle version of the book and have started. It is excellent thus far. Very enjoyable.

    I will be triangulating it with other relevant works of my recent study, e.g., "Start With Why," "Being Wrong," " Descarte's Error," "Mindwise," Whack-a-Mole," etc.

    "Curiosity," which adds to factual knowledge and cognitive/reasoning ability, lies basically in the province of "emotion." As Damasio pointed out, one has to CARE about learning and rational decision-making. "Rationalism" with "flat affect" is pretty much a contradiction, and invariably yields significantly suboptimal outcomes. To the extent that we suppress "emotionalism" in children in particular, we damage them for life. They end up apathetic, disinterested in critical thinking / complex reasoning challenges, and ripe for the prejudice-picking by demagogues. One need not look far for examples, `eh?

    ...I have taught "Critical Thinking" at my university, and trained in a forensic-level radiation lab early in my career. I worry about our expanding "idiocracy."

    "Idiot" doesn't mean "stupid." From the Greek "idios," it means, well, self-absorbed, incurious, literally "aware of only oneself." And, any idiot can aim an AK47 and pull the trigger...

    Cheers -

    Bobby"
    __

    "...one has to CARE about learning and rational decision-making..."

    I need to add to that that one needs to genuinely CARE about helping people learn effectively (the principal thesis in this book) -- both children and adult learners. Ian Leslie points out just how important (and how difficult) that is. Distance "Learning," MOOCs, and University of Google are not going to be our salvation. They are good ancillary tools for the "Cognitive Haves," but they will also tend to widen the educational divide, which in turn cannot but exacerbate the socioeconomic divide.

    I'd implore everyone to buy it, study it closely, and pay it forward to any teachers you know. (BTW, add to the contextual reading list Schein's "The Gentle Art of Humble Inquiry")
    10 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Kevin Browne
    4.0 out of 5 stars Ask more questions
    Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Curiosity. We see it brimming over in young children. Then it slowly wains. By the time these children reach the college classroom it has gone extinct in many of them. Sadly, the very thing that is supposed to be supporting our curiosity is a large factor in its decline: schooling. The focus on answers over questions drives out curiosity in favor of certainty. The fear of being wrong drives out curiosity in favor of certainty. The ubiquity of information drives out curiosity in favor of trivia.

    Ian Leslie's book does a good job of addressing not only the importance of curiosity but also why it declines and how to preserve it. As he points out "curiosity is vulnerable to benign neglect." It needs to be cultivated and supported. It is a habit that needs to be fostered by continued practice. Often we don't get that practice.

    Leslie relates several compelling stories related to the need for curiosity. The first one comes from business professor Robert Mittelstaedt in his book Will Your Next Mistake be Fatal? "Titanic received many incoming messages warning of ice, but there is no mention of her inquiring of others for updates or more information. What if someone was curious enough to ask for more information from the ships in the area?" As Leslie then points out, "afterward, several planners and shipbuilders involved admitted to having had questions about the ship's safety that they didn't raise in front of colleagues, for fear of appearing foolish."

    Ahh, the fear of appearing foolish. Perhaps one of the biggest curiosity killers among students and even well-experience professionals. It is no wonder that Leslie discusses this as the first point of seven ways to preserve curiosity: stay foolish. Consider Socrates. He was told that he was the wisest of all men in Athens because he was aware of what he didn't know. He was not afraid to ask foolish questions. Very often these "foolish" questions revealed profound insights.

    Speaking of knowing what he didn't know this relates to a second story Lesie tells about curiosity: the often ridiculed statement of Donald Rumsfeld where he said "There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns-the ones we don't know we don't know." While initially ridiculed the statement was later reevaluated and was recognized by linguist Geoffrey Pullum as "impeccable, syntactically, semantically, logically, and rhetorically."

    One reason this is such a useful insight is that, as Leslie points out, "in order to feel curious, you have to be aware of a gap in your knowledge in the first place. The trouble is, most of us, most of the time, go around thinking we know everything."

    One of Leslie's last pieces of advice for preserving curiosity is to turn puzzles into mysteries. This is based on a distinction between the two that is discussed earlier in the book. "Puzzles have definite answers." On the other hand, "mysteries are murkier, less neat." The contain an uncertainty that puzzles do not. Puzzles focus on tactical questions such as "How many?" or "Where?" Mysteries force us to contemplate bigger "How?" or "Why?" questions.

    So, ask more questions. Don't be afraid to seem foolish. Cultivate on enjoyment of learning and an appreciation of the mundane. Anything can be a source of curiosity. But, you have to be willing to open yourself to the opportunity when it presents itself. As Pasteur once said, "chance favors the prepared observer." Part of being prepared is to be curious.
    16 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Ricardo Benito Vinós
    5.0 out of 5 stars Muy recomendable.
    Reviewed in Mexico on September 25, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Vale la pena leerlo, muy interesante y entretenido, escrito para una lectura ágil y amena.
    Report
  • cesar carneiro penna
    5.0 out of 5 stars Recheado de histórias, estudos e dicas, este livro é um chamado convincente à curiosidade
    Reviewed in Brazil on December 28, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Até aonde a curiosidade impacta sua vida?

    Como este impacto tem mudado com o avanço da era da informação?

    Como incorporar a curiosidade em seu dia a dia?

    Por que ao menos se dar ao trabalho?

    Qual o papel do risco nessa história?

    Quais os dois tipos de curiosidade e como eles ao mesmo tempo se mostram complementares e necessários?

    Para te deixar curioso, vou responder somente a essa última pergunta e com uma citação retirada do livro "Diversive curiosity makes us want to know what lies on the other side of the mountain; epistemic curiosity arms us with the knowledge to survive when we get there"

    E aí, vai arriscar a leitura? É a curiosidade que leva ao conhecimento que leva ao aprendizado. A complacência é a grande vilã num cenário de abundância de informações e acesso instantâneo.
    Report
  • JB
    4.0 out of 5 stars A book to read
    Reviewed in Spain on September 1, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    A very interesting book about curiosity and how our search for curiosity makes us a better version of ourselves in terms of academic and social performance..

    The book is written in a very clear language, and exposes different types of curiosity ( diversive, epistemic ... ) and why we must not stop being curious. We live in an age where internet has given broad access to a give type of knowledge that only meets the surface of the issues, and does not invite us to dig in their root causes. In most cases our knowledge is limited to 140 characters or the length of Facebook post.This book remembers us that we must not forget to dig in the causes of the events in our surrounding environment and society.

    I have liked the 8 ways of staying curious, and how they help us to nurture our born curiosity.

    A book to have around a read from time to time.
    Report
  • Barbara Alguire
    5.0 out of 5 stars The book was in perfect condition when it arrived
    Reviewed in Canada on May 18, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    The book was in perfect condition when it arrived. I would highly recommend this to anyone wgo is interested in cognition and creativity and related topics. Very thorough and easy to read.
    Report
  • Shailender Jeet Singh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good collection of thoughts and principles
    Reviewed in India on July 26, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Every page of this book made me curious, about what's in store in the next page. Very nicely compiled stories.
    Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report