Created just last year, the ‘Everythinginterestings’ Instagram account already boasts more than 260 thousand followers who are looking forward to learning something new; even if it’s something completely random.
You probably know the feeling when you learn something new and random, yet surprisingly interesting. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you will delve any deeper into the topic, but you are happy to have familiarized yourself with it.
If you’re wondering why that is – why people are interested in learning bits and pieces of random information – professor of psychology at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, Dr. Noam Shpancer, notes that there are several reasons for that.
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Talking about trivia and learning with Bored Panda, Prof. Shpancer emphasized that there are various reasons why people are interested in these things. “Human beings are curious, and we are a learning species. Our ability to learn is our claim to fame in the animal kingdom. We are inclined to enjoy knowing more than not knowing. We enjoy mastery,” he said.
“At the same time, we don’t like effort. Deep knowledge requires effort. Trivia satisfies this desire for learning and knowledge with minimum effort, so there’s an attraction there. Situational circumstances also factor into this equation. If others are doing it; and more so if others are rewarded for it – then you’re likely to become interested, too.”
Now that you know the reasons, you might be wondering what determines the extent to which a person is interested in learning something new, which is also a complex issue.
“Important outcomes in life are multi-determined. There is always more than one cause for how things turn out. Your interests are shaped by a combination of genetics, personality disposition, cultural and environmental conditions, personal experience, and luck,” Dr. Shpancer explained.
Be it browsing random facts or diving completely into one topic, curiosity also plays a significant role when it comes to learning. According to Dr. Shpancer, it’s our existential position to be curious. Just look at children, for instance; they tend to have many reasons to be afraid of things, but they are usually more curious than afraid, the expert noted.
Curiosity often wins, and that’s because the “story of our species is a story of chasing our curiosities.”
Prof. Shpancer continued to point out that learning is a good exercise for your brain, but there’s a caveat. “The brain and body are ‘use it or lose it’ propositions,” he said. “So to the extent that learning trivia exercises your brain, then it is a helpful habit.
“Some familiarity with diverse fields can be helpful, so long as you don’t mistake some familiarity for expertise. You may look at it this way: some people are ‘neon lights’ – they have shallow knowledge across a broad area. Others are ‘laser beams;’ they derive meaning and satisfaction from developing deep focused expertise in one area to the exclusion of all others. My guess is that diversity is healthy here. We need both kinds.”
While learning something new everyday can be good for you, you shouldn’t make it a chore. Asked about this, Prof. Shpancer noted that he personally doesn’t agree with giving people strict, rigid, and narrow rules for living.
“I don’t think you need to learn something new every day – unless this is what you want and choose to do,” he said. “As a general principle, however, spending time and energy regularly and intentionally learning new things is a healthy life habit.”
