CURIOSITY: WE ARE WHAT WE READ
In the age of information, knowledge is no longer a privilege. We have access to endless volumes of data, and it’s almost entirely at our fingertips. Access like this is undoubtedly overwhelming. In research, data is only one piece to the puzzle; just the first step in the long process of problem solving. How we interpret data and what we do with it to aid others’ understanding can stand in the way of generating solutions. With the Information Age has come people’s inability to describe the essence of the news and data they consume. We have been trained to look and act smart and sell ourselves on the false pretense that we are experts, confident in the knowledge we have consumed through school and experience.
What Wurman questions is why we don’t sell ourselves into the workforce on the line that we are curious humans, fascinated with learning and consuming more. After all, we are what we read. We are the information we consume and the byproduct of how we digest that knowledge. As “Information Architects” we have to aid those who are information hungry but remain curious ourselves. We have the opportunity to organize the data we come in contact with and help others to infer and problem solve. I’ve always been aware of the power design holds, but power also lies in curiosity and a willingness to never cease to consume, digest, and understand.
Sources: Introduction: Richard Saul Wurman
SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2020