Curious Minds: The Power of Connection

Another book about curiosity? We have seen quite a few lately, not least because of the growing importance of the topic in the context of leadership and organization. Most of not all if these books relate curiosity to an individual’s desire to learn, to find out, to acquire new knowledge.Curious Minds is refreshingly different. Oscillating between neural and sociological network theory, the authors reveal the essence of curiosity as a connectivity practice. And they do it in a radically interdisciplinary way, traveling between the realms of art, neuroscience, history, philosophy, literature, psychology, sociology - you name it - shining an intriguing light on a subject that gets usually seen only through the narrow lens of a single discipline.Connectivity is the keyword here, and it runs like a red thread through the book. What makes the reading experience so unique, is the combination of a deep connection between the authors (they are identical twins who grew up together) with radical scholarly diversity, which results in a rare creative tension. The eight chapters of the book alternate like a pendulum between neuroscience and philosophy, feeding off each other like a ping-pong game as the thread of argument unwinds. In other words – we as readers become witnesses of the authors’ curious “dance” that unfolds in front of our eyes.Curiosity as a driver that creates social texture, constituting and feeding relationship networks on the individual, organizational, and societal level. That’s a very welcome novel view, with significant implications for leadership, organization, and ecosystems. An enlightening and inspiring read.

I was blown away by this delightful, quirky book. It’s somehow deeply wonkish but also totally accessible. I dog-eared countless pages, annotating insights and inspirations. My favorite non-fiction read of the year.