School of Curiosity
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Ten steps to making your life more interesting
August 22, 2012
In issue 41 of The Idler – The quite interesting issue you can find The QI Manifesto – 10 steps to making your life more interesting. Here’s a short version….
1. Everything is interesting: Provided that you look at it in the right way.
2. Ask more questions: Everyone asks lots of questions at a young age, then you are told it is best to let people teach you things which are often wrong.
3. We all know less than we think we know: This is what General Ignorance is. We still do not know how or why the universe began, what consciousness is, what light is, or even the best way to bring up children.
4. Look for new connections: Write down the things you do not know already. Interestingness cannot be defined or taught. It is a spark which arcs between two previously unconnected things.
5. If it’s worth writing down, it’s worth writing down clearly: Jargon, technical terms other confusing pieces of language are the enemies of truth.
6. What you leave out is as important as what you leave in: It is better to be interesting than to be comprehensive.
7. Digressions are the point: QI is about making connections, not lists of trivial facts. One piece of interesting information leads to others just as interesting.
8. Take your time: It may take a long time of reading boring information before you finally find a gem that will change your life.
9: Walk towards the sound of gunfire: Do what is right and say what is right, without fear of what other people will think of you.
10: You already have everything you need: Instincts, curiosity and your own ignorance. The paradox is that you have to stop talking about how much you know.
Have a curious day.
Sneezecount
August 21, 2012
For just over five years, Joyfeed has made a record of his every sneeze. Here’s an account on number forty two
Do you count anything strange?
Have a curious day.
The small house appreciation society
August 20, 2012
Whoever it was that said that bigger is better, ought to think again. There’s growing interest around the world in the idea of the ‘small house’. There are lots of benefits to living in less than 100 square feet of space – you don’t think twice about de-clutterng, it’s essential if you are to be able to turn around; you get closer to nature because there is very little to separate you from it; and without gadgets and garages, life is just simpler and slower.
If you want to have a look at some tiny houses go to The Tiny House Blog, The Tiny LIfe, or This Tiny House. It makes you feel good.
Have a curious day.
Majestic market traders
August 16, 2012
Market traders in Malawi give themselves names that European’s can pronounce more easily than their African monikers. So in the market of Lilongwe you will find Innocent, Spyro and even King James I.
What would you be called?
Have a curious day.
Waxing lyrical
August 15, 2012
Remember those hours of childlike fun with your wax crayons? Well, artist Christian Faur has put a new slant on fun with colour by creating a series of images using just ordinary wax crayons. Each photo-realistic picture includes thousands of stacked colorful crayons that resemble small pixels when viewed up close. His works have included a portrait of his daughter as a child, made in different hues and patterns.
Why not have a bit of fun with colour today?
Have a curious day.
The return of Clementine
August 14, 2012
She’s back. With her sparkling new paint job, Clementine will be out and about taking The School of Curiosity on the road. Watch out for her and give her a wave.
You can follow all of her adventures on Twitter @clementinz
Have a curious day.
Hello world!
August 14, 2012
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On your extraordinary doorstep
August 13, 2012
Chef Rene Redzepi runs Noma, the Copenhagen restaurant lauded as the best in the world for the past three years. Rather than ship in exotic ingredients from around the world, he did something simple. He looked at what was around him in a way that nobody else had done, simple ingredients on his doorstep, and he made them world class.
He says “We foraged for ingredients – whether it was along the shoreline in the hedgerows or deeper into the forest. We found all these insane flavours like rosehip berries on Dragor beach. When ripe they taste just like sundried tomatoes. And sea arrowgrass, which has the flavour of coriander but grows out of rotting seaweed”.
He turned trash to treasure just by looking at it in a different way. What’s on your extraordinary doorstep?
Have a curious day.
We are the dreamers of dreams
August 10, 2012
We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;—
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.
Arthur O’Shaunassey 1840-1881.
Have a curious day.
The Lovemarks effect
August 9, 2012
If you’ve sat watching advert after advert during the Olympics, you are probably tired of hearing about brand names. But have you ever noticed how we seem to notice some brands, despise a few and yet really care about others?
Kevin Roberts, Worldwide CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi, calls the brands that rise above the rest and create an emotional attachment with the consumer as ‘Lovemarks’. These are more than just brands, we feel something about them, we are engaged and even attached.
Roberts says that Lovemarks have three qualities that distinguish them from mere brands – mystery, sensuality and intimacy.
My Lovemarks are The School of Curiosity; VW Camper; Monocle; Radio 4. What are yours?
Have a curious day.