The Unknown

People are strange creatures.  I'm pretty sure I've said that before, and I'm certain I will again.  So perhaps I should be more specific.

We're hypocrites.

On the one hand many people, perhaps most to some various degree, are afraid of the unknown.  We prefer the situation we know to the possibility of change for as long as its possible.  This is not true to every degree of course, and some change is always wanted, as we always want more.  But for major changes, we are often too afraid even when its needed.

On the other, however, we are constantly curious about things we don't know or understand.  If there's a hole, we want to look in it.  If there's a dark room, we want to turn on the light.  If there's the faintest indication we don't know about something, we want to find out.

To be more precise, we want OTHER people to find out.

The more unknown something is, and thus more threatening to us, the more we want someone else to do the task of shedding light upon a situation.  We'll look in the hole in the ground, but if it's a big hole like a cave... well... it's always the other person who should go first.

Not everyone is like that, however.  Scientists are the tame ones, but others who we deem "adventurous types" are immune to this fear.  On the other end of the scale, there are some who cling to everything they "know" and refuse to admit there is anything more to learn.  These have no curiosity, and are typically those who cling most fiercely to situations that have degraded beyond acceptance.

We have adages about the curiosity of cats.  As a cat owner (or, from his point of view, as a cat's pet), I know they are very curious.  But they're mostly just curious about anything they can hunt, or any sign of change, which is always just inspected as a threat and eventually accepted.  We are far more curious.  Even dogs are more curious than that.  My dog loves to explore.  The cat gets mad if I rearrange the porch.

Maybe we're just simple creatures who are still afraid of noises in the dark, but have learned that if we control those sounds we can give ourselves adrenaline rushes, and so like to do it.  Who knows.

On second thought, sometimes there is a reason to be wary of the unknown.  Like experimenting with food trying to make it taste better... sometimes you get something great, but others it just turns your stomach where you can barely figure out how to type a blog post.

Stupid cream of wheat.