"Zurn and Bassett changed my mind about what curiosity is at its essence. I am now convinced that curiosity is more than wanting to know—it is wanting to connect. This bold new theory for curiosity has enormous implications for building a more curious, creative, and equitable society."
Angela Duckworth, Founder and CEO, Character Lab, Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor, University of Pennsylvania
"Curious Minds not only opens up a stunning new landscape for the study of innovation and creativity, but also provides fresh, practical insights into the kernel of inquisitiveness in each of us."
Scott Barry Kaufman, host of The Psychology Podcast and author of Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization
"Here is a story of the small network connecting siblings, with its intimate possibilities, expanding into the network of ideas connecting the world, with its infinite possibilities. Herein science, philosophy, and art assert their equality in a matrix of the mysterious."
David C Krakauer, resident and William H. Miller Professor of Complex Systems, Santa Fe Institute, and John W. Krakauer, John C. Malone Professor, Professor of Neurology & Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
"A brilliantly original exploration of curiosity. Reading this ambitious and joyful book is a marvelous experience in expanding the mind and the heart—in connecting all the dots to envision a better world."
Barbara M. Benedict, Charles A. Dana Professor of English, Trinity College, author of Curiosity: A Cultural History of Early-Modern Inquiry
"What exactly is curiosity? Where does it come from and how does it work? In a manuscript peppered with questions, [Perry Zurn and Dani Bassett] explore everything from Plutarch to Google algorithms… Neither Zurn nor Bassett are technically historians, but you wouldn't know it from reading their book... In fact, the book is outlandishly multidisciplinary… Curious Minds also keenly explores whose curiosity is encouraged and whose is policed – the twins examine marginalization, power and privilege throughout the book."
The Observer (UK)
“Refreshingly different. It radically reframes the elusive concept of curiosity in a way that elevates it to a new epistemological level…Intellectually and aesthetically deeply satisfying, [Zurn and Bassett] travel 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…Beautiful, almost poetic writing… An enlightening and inspiring read.”
Developing Leaders Quarterly
