Why are we so curious?

First, a note about artificial intelligence and their algorithms.

It ends up that when learning algorithms only seek what they are optimized for, they get stuck at a certain level of performance. When computer scientists figured this out, they began to modify those learning algorithms to include an “exploration bonus.”

Rewarding exploratory behavior seems to make an algorithm more inefficient. They naturally return some results that don’t match the optimization goal.

But actually an “exploration bonus” prompts algorithms to learn important things—longer term things—that they would have missed otherwise. For example, MIT recently reported on a learning algorithm for hiring that doubled the diversity of candidates to be hired and nearly tripled its hiring success because the algorithm included an “exploration bonus.”

So why are we so curious? The answer is called “neotony,” which means “the retention of juvenile characteristics.” Perhaps the reason why children are little learning machines (when we let them be) is because “curiosity is nature's built-in exploration bonus.”

What does this mean for education?

Traditional schools will continue to fight tooth and nail to “get through the curriculum” because they “have to cover” certain content.

By contrast, the School of the Future will include exploration bonuses in the curriculum. Some Schools of the Future will go further and allow students to design their own curriculum—with some guidance and coaching—around their curiosity and sense of purpose. [1]

It’s the difference between “learning what you’re told” and “learning how to learn.” In a VUCA world, the latter is a competitive advantage.

And—not for nothing—makes for happier and more fulfilled kids.

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[1] Expeditions work this way. Students identify problems that they’re curious about and that matter to them, then self-organize in teams to investigate them. It is entirely student-driven, yet by the end of four days every team is prepared to present a robust problem-solution pitch to a CEO panel in a public setting.

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For more in the "School of the Future” series, click on the tiles below.

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