Standage - Seriously Curious

WHAT LINKS DETECTIVES , scientists, economists, journalistsand cats? The answer, of course, is curiosity. They all want to discover more about the world. But their curiosity is driven by more than just a desire to understand the way things are. They also want to understand the underlying mechanisms that explain how things got to be that way, so that they can anticipate, predict or explain future events. Detectives want to uncover peoples motivations and solve crimes. Scientists want to devise new theories that will deepen their grasp of reality. Economists want to improve their understanding of the transactions that underpin human societies. Journalists want to create narratives that help people make sense of current affairs. Cats want to maximise their chances of getting their paws on more roast chicken.

All of them are constantly gathering evidence, devising theories and testing new avenues in pursuit of their goals. In all these fields, curiosity is not merely usefulit is vital. It is a willingness, or in fact a hunger, to discover new, previously unknown things. No wonder Thomas Hobbes called it the lust of the mind. Curiosity provides the spur to gather more raw material for analysis, by probing the limits of what is known.

Alas, the information-driven, evidence-based way of looking at the world has lately fallen out of favour. In a post-truth world, knowledge is scorned, facts are optional (or can be challenged by alternative facts) and reality can be distorted or ignored. But the seriously curious know that in the long run, reality will always prevail. Curiosity leads people towards a more accurate understanding of the world; only the terminally incurious can maintain a distorted or inaccurate worldview for long, and only then by walling themselves off from evidence that challenges their outlook. Curiosity is the royal road to truth.

So this book takes a stand, in its own small way, for the forces of curiosity, evidence and reason. It brings together unexpected explanations and fascinating facts from The Economists output of explainers and daily charts. Its mission is to show, through a series of entertaining examples, how logic and data can illuminate the hidden mechanisms that make the world work the way it does. Why do tennis players grunt? Why does polygamy make civil wars more likely? What is the link between avocados and crime? Why is there a shortage of sand? How does fracking boost birth rates?

Each of these questions is a miniature mystery story. Each one challenges you to imagine your own explanation, like a detective arriving at the scene of a crime. (You are probably wondering about those criminal avocados right now.) After a paragraph or two of context comes the explanation, and enlightenment dawnsor, just as satisfyingly, you discover that your theory was indeed the correct answer. Moreover, you now understand an aspect of how the world works better than you did before.

We hope this collection will stimulate and satisfy your curiosity. The very fact that you are reading this book at all, and have bothered to read to the end of this introduction, grants you admission, along with the detectives, scientists and cats, to the ranks of the seriously curious. Welcome to the club.

Tom Standage

Deputy Editor, The Economist

July 2018