One Piece of Advice I Got from the VP of Engineering
Curious?
Recently, I had a one-on-one talk with our VP of Engineering. I shared that I felt stuck and unsure about my growth direction. His advice was simple: stay curious.
This triggered my curiosity to understand what curiosity itself means. As software engineers, we have an urge to optimize everything, so the question naturally follows: Are there ways to maximize curiosity?
Understanding the Different Types of Curiosity
According to the American Psychological Association (APA):
Curiosity is an emotion or a mental state that prompts individuals to seek out information, experiences, and stimulation, driven by the desire for novelty, knowledge, or resolution of uncertainty.
There are four main types of curiosity:
Perceptual Curiosity: This is triggered by sensory experiences — something interesting that catches our eye, like a partially obscured image. It’s the curiosity we feel when something visually or audibly piques our interest.
Epistemic Curiosity: This is the desire to acquire knowledge and engage in intellectual growth. It’s driven by a love for learning and problem-solving, pushing us to seek deeper understanding.
Diversive Curiosity: This is the need for stimulation to avoid boredom. It’s the type of curiosity that drives us to explore a new city or pick up a hobby. It’s less about gaining knowledge and more about breaking monotony.
Specific Curiosity: This is about finding a precise answer to a question or solving a particular problem. For example, trying to recall a forgotten name or searching for a specific piece of information.
Research shows that epistemic curiosity leads to positive outcomes, including improved problem-solving skills, heightened creativity, and greater overall life satisfaction.
Epistemic curiosity can be divided into two main dimensions:
Interest-Based Curiosity: This is a genuine interest in learning new information that is both stimulating and enjoyable. It’s that feeling you get when a topic fascinates you, and you’re eager to explore it further.
Deprivation-Based Curiosity: This type of curiosity arises from a knowledge gap that causes discomfort or a sense of unease. It’s the need to resolve uncertainty, pushing you to seek out information to fill that gap.
Factors and Techniques to Increase Epistemic Curiosity
Factors contributing to having a high epistemic curiosity:
Personality Traits: Individuals who are naturally open to experience tend to have higher levels of curiosity. This openness encourages exploration and the desire to learn.
Early Life Experiences: A childhood environment that encourages questioning, exploration, and learning can greatly influence epistemic curiosity. Providing opportunities for exploration and fostering a sense of wonder early on lays a strong foundation.
Educational Exposure: Access to quality education and being surrounded by knowledgeable peers can stimulate curiosity. Environments — whether schools or workplaces — that reward curiosity-driven exploration tend to foster this trait.
Self-Confidence: People who believe in their ability to learn and solve problems are more likely to engage in activities that satisfy their curiosity. When you have confidence in your capacity to acquire new skills, you’re more inclined to pursue knowledge.
Intrinsic Motivation: Those motivated by the joy of learning possess an internal drive that pushes them to explore, even when there’s no external reward. This intrinsic motivation is a powerful factor in sustaining curiosity.
Exposure to Uncertainty: Being comfortable with uncertainty can fuel curiosity. Those who embrace ambiguity are more likely to investigate and seek out knowledge to fill gaps in their understanding.
Ways to increase epistemic curiosity:
Ask More Questions: Challenge yourself to ask “why,” “how,” and “what if” in everyday situations. This habit encourages deeper thinking and exploration.
Engage with Diverse Topics: Step outside your main domain and explore subjects that are unfamiliar to you. Engaging with new areas can expand your knowledge and stimulate curiosity.
Embrace Uncertainty: Instead of avoiding things you don’t understand, see them as opportunities for growth. Approach uncertainty with a mindset of curiosity and discovery.
Surround Yourself with Curious People: Curiosity is contagious. Being around others who are curious can inspire you to ask more questions and seek out knowledge.
Read Widely and Regularly: Engaging with books, podcasts, and other media on a variety of topics can spark new interests and questions.
Reflect on What You Learn: Take time to think about what you’ve learned and how it connects with your existing knowledge. Reflection deepens understanding and encourages further curiosity.
Reward Curiosity-Driven Exploration: Set small rewards for yourself when you actively seek out new knowledge or solve challenging problems. Positive reinforcement helps in building a habit of curiosity-driven behavior.
The 5 Whys Technique
5 Whys is the practice of asking why repeatedly whenever a problem is encountered in order to get beyond the obvious symptoms to discover the root cause.
I‘ve noticed that my most significant growth as an engineer happened whenever I dug a level deeper than others. So, whenever you encounter a bug and successfully solve it, take the time to understand not just the immediate solution but also the context and depth behind it.
Ask yourself:
Why did this bug happen?
Did I expect the underlying framework/code to behave differently?
Why did I have that expectation?
Can I investigate the underlying source code to understand more?
Find your own curiosity triggers to excelerate growth
I’ve noticed that I’m most curious about life when I have access to the right information at the right time. For example, when I travel between Austria (to visit family) and Dubai, I spend about 50% of the flight listening to podcasts instead of watching movies. This habit sparks my curiosity, and once I land, I’m eager to research more about what I’ve listened to.
Recently, I’ve been tuning into the a16z Podcast and My First Million — both incredibly interesting and thought-provoking.
It’s essential to monitor yourself and identify what triggers your curiosity.
Another curiosity trigger for me is when I need a break from my main task or reviewing PRs. I’ll often check out recent commits made by a coworker in a completely different repository with a different tech stack. This small detour usually leads me to explore and research new concepts, which accelerates my growth. I’ve made it a habit to timebox this exploration to about 30 minutes, allowing me to deeply focus without derailing my main responsibilities.
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