A Curiosity of Curiosity

Although some may not realize it, I do realize that not everyone things as I do.  I mean this to mean both in the same ways, the same opinions, and the same levels.  This is not ego saying that I'm deeper than everyone else; I'm not.  Than some, yes, although I hate that this is so, as I think everyone should analyze things more.  There are those who think deeper than I do, which I can easily accept, and gladly even.  Some days though, I am frustrated by myself and others alike.

I just finished watching a National Geographic documentary on the Gospel of Judas.  And if anyone's wondering "doesn't he usually try to avoid talking religion on things like this?" you're right.  I'm not going into religion, but into mindsets.  What struck me as absolutely bewildering to me (which should have hit me long before now) is just how much some people are not curious, and wish to know no more about things they love.  At the end of the documentary, they did some "reaction shots" from various people, one of which was a religious figure or scholar or some such, I missed his name and job title.  Someone who lives and breathes religion, at any rate.  In reference to the newly recovered gospel, and any other such gospels, he was utterly dismissive, saying, in effect, 'Why should I need that?  I have these four, who could ask for more? What could it add?'

The movie Dogma includes a brief line by the lead of, essentially, people would love to learn more about these things, and who wouldn't want extra information.  I have never once paused over those lines, nor even considered that anyone who truly cares about religion, positively or negatively, would NOT want to at least review them.  But this man simply had no care about them whatsoever.

I'm a potter.  If I found there was some new major take on an aspect of it or a new technique, I would be interested.  I would think it natural to be, and would assume this would be true for anyone who has any passion for their job.  For theology and philosophy especially, which are intangible things, I would assume that any extra knowledge could only deepen your appreciation, lead you to new insights, greater understanding.  Even if you reject what it teaches, I am simply at a blank for any reason to simply not want to look, to be so wholly satisfied that anything new simply has no place in your mind.  To read it and say "interesting, but I do not believe it" is one thing, but not to read it?

I fear I'm growing repetitive.  My mind is repeatedly approaching this concept and not being able to grasp it.  Which, oddly enough, fits into my point.  I am approaching it, despite being utterly confused by it I am attempting to assimilate this new information.

One of my prior posts on this blog was on greater understanding of the world through having multiple points of view, basically balancing out your mind so you can greater understand the whole.  For the first time it is hitting me fully that some people simply do not want to understand more, even about that which they love.  I can understand not wanting to know about certain things.  I have no interest whatsoever in what celebrities are doing, nor any real interest in what sports teams are doing.  But I have no passion about those.  The world as a whole, I want to understand better.  Art and science, which I do have passion for, I am always curious about.

To find someone who is a devoutly religions and has dedicated their life to it, and has no curiosity about anything new or any opposing views... and presumably other people with comparable lacks of curiosity about their fields...

I begin to realize just how little I understand other people.  I find it disturbing, but I am still curious because it is something of which I have no understanding at all.

How can a person lock him or herself in a box and simply say "this box is the world, and that is enough" of their own free will, and what does that do to the person?

PS
If anyone at all was curious about the rat situation, it has not shown itself since the last incident.  It may be dead from injuries, dead from a combination poison and injuries, dead by predator (lucky predator if it was), disillusioned enough to seek a new home, or biding its time, but I have seen no evidence of it whatsoever in the last few days.

Second PS
I think my cat may have just illustrated the entire argument to me.  I was lying on my bed playing solitaire on my ipod thinking about what I have just typed, as I am prone to do, with the dog laying over my arm making it go numb when the cat jumped up.  He walked straight up my leg onto my chest, pushed his way between the ipod and my hand, and demanded almost exactly ten seconds of attention.  Then he turned around, walked straight off of the bed to the door and went about his business, whatever that may be.  He did not care about what I was doing, he did not care about what the dog was doing, and he did not care about the strange thing with light coming from it.  All of that was normal and posing no immediate concern.  He just came in, got exactly what he wanted, and then left, no curiosity about it.  Of course, now he is stalking into the room checking everything out as he goes, but he got what wanted, a few itches and a moment of socialization.

We're not so different in some ways, cats (and other animals) and humans.  I suppose that man is simply single-minded.  He gets what he wants to get from things exactly how they are and always have been for him, and that's that.  While I cannot imagine letting go like that, he can.  Maybe it's a good thing, maybe not.  He probably sleeps better than I do, I'll grant him that.