What is Curious: Definition and 183 Discussions

Curiosity (from Latin cūriōsitās, from cūriōsus "careful, diligent, curious", akin to cura "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in humans and other animals. Curiosity is heavily associated with all aspects of human development, in which derives the process of learning and desire to acquire knowledge and skill.The term curiosity can also be used to denote the behavior or emotion of being curious, in regard to the desire to gain knowledge or information. Curiosity as a behavior and emotion is attributed over millennia as the driving force behind not only human development, but developments in science, language, and industry.

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  1. topsquark

    Spider's ancestors-Just curious

    What did the spider evolve from? Just curious. -Dan
  2. benorin

    A Geometric Product (a series of exercises for the curious)

    I hope you have fun with these... OK, so you know the geometric series, right? It goes like this: \sum_{k=0}^{\infty} z^k = \frac{1}{1-z},\forall z\in\mathbb{C}\mbox{ such that }\left| z\right|<1 How about this one? Call it, say, the geometric product: \prod_{k=0}^{\infty} \left( 1+...
  3. Z

    The curious question of the leaping kangaroo

    A friend sent me this problem over IM. I've never seen anything quite like this before and even after she explained it (albeit a rushed explanation), I still have little idea what parts of the problem mean, much less how the answer was arrived at. The problem is this: So, first of all, what...
  4. M

    Curious statement about operators in my QM book?

    hi, In a discussion of the historical motivations for a move from calculus to operators, my QM book says... "Many mathematicians were uncomfortable with the 'metaphysical implications' of a mathematics formulated in terms of infinitesimal quantities (like dx). This disquiet was the stimulus...
  5. B

    Not homework, just curious

    *Let f\left( x \right) be a twice-differentiable function for which \; \mathop {\lim }\limits_{x \to 0^ - } f\left( x \right) = \infty Then, is it true that \mathop {\lim }\limits_{x \to 0^ - } f\,{''}\left( x \right) > 0\;? ---------------------------------------------- Or a...
  6. matthyaouw

    The Curious Case of Hair Growth: Evo & Physiological Reasons

    Why does the hair on our bodies (much like the hair on animals) grow to a certain point, then fall out/stop, but the hair on our heads seems to grow indefinately? Do any other wild animals have hair that can grow forever? I'm not only interested in why it grows in physical terms, but...
  7. J

    How does adding a salt of a weak acid to its solution affect the pH?

    chem question...curious?! hi guys i was just wondering that if a solution of a weak acid has a salt of the same acid added to it, what would happen to the pH?? can anyone help me out...thanks in advance
  8. G

    Curious what the take is around here on antidepressants

    Hi all, Just kinda curious what the take is around here on antidepressants. Myself, i don't like pills of any kind... but maybe they'd be worth the investment for some people. If anyone knows any good articles for or against them, that'd be welcome. But mostly, I'm just looking for...
  9. R

    Curious about a pattern to prime products.

    Curious about this pattern. list(6N,-1,+1)less list((6n,-1,+1)*(6N,-1,+1)) produces 100% primes =>5 for as far as I am able to take it. Sorry the dwgs would not copy so have added attachments. This pattern of products repeats by value (first digit set, second digit set, etc) and by...
  10. S

    How do I properly reference plays and poems in a report?

    When I'm doing a report and i refer to a novel, then i know that i have to underline the novel's title. What if i have a play or a poem? what do i use? (e.g. underline, quotes, etc)
  11. T

    Curious about Beringia's climate

    I became curious about Beringia's climate. Beringia is located between Chukotka and Alaska, neither of which are commonly considered tropical paradises. But Beringia existred during, and because of, the Ice Age, which suggests that it should have been far colder than Alaska. Perhaps incredibly...
  12. D

    Curious - a question concerning the eye.

    People are often attracted to eyes; however, do eyes diminish in beauty over time, like other physical attributes? If not, do marriages last longer among couples who both have, according to culture, beautiful eyes?
  13. N

    Curious questions about a pendulum

    If the size of the ball that is attached to the pendulum increases, will it affect the swing at all? What if you changed the mass of the spring, will that influence any change in T? Also, why is that an iron bob is more suited than an aluminum?
  14. N

    Preparing Isopentyl Acetate: Why Extra Acetic Acid is Needed

    Why is it necessary to use a large excess of acetic adic in the prepartion of isopentyl acetate?
  15. P

    Exploring Differentiation and Integration Techniques for Trigonometric Functions

    Yo. Curious about two things.. First, is it possible to use a method such as differentiation from first principles (the whole lim_{\delta\rightarrow0}\[f(x+\delta)-f(x)]/\delta thing) to differentiate trigonometric functions? Or is everyone stumped with memorizing them? (I'm curious about...
  16. F

    Curious question about Magnets

    When playing around with magnets, one can notice that they attract objects from a distance. No only that, but they can also attract quite heavy objects many, many times in a row. Where does the energy that moves the objects come from/stored? Does it ever "run out"? My guess is that magnets...
  17. B

    Can a Linear Operator Define This Specific Polynomial Transformation?

    Well, this problem is kinda dumb; it's in the GIF image file that I attached... a,b,c,d,...,z are all real constants, and 'n' is natural; I was wondering if such a function would exist...for the real constants a,b,c,d,...,z (filename is polyprobgif.gif and sumformul.gif)
  18. C

    A Curious Question About Freezing

    Here's a question I've been thinking about for a while; maybe you guys could provide some guidance. If the air temperature is below 0 degrees Celsius, the water at the surface freezes to form ice, right. Now the question I have is: why doesn't freezing occur throughout the entire volume of...
  19. Werdatothewise

    Any Applicants? Followed by questions curious

    Any Applicants? Followed by questions...curious Lastly, would you all mind if I (kind) of took a poll on (how) many of you are currently enrolled in advanced education? *Note: Advanced Education covers all areas'... Next to last question... What are your hopes dreams after you have...
  20. marcus

    A curious function in quantum gravity

    quantum gravity research seems to be undergoing some changes so just because this function comes up today doesn't mean it will be around for eternity, but that said, look at this function L(x) = \sum_{p = semi-integer > 0}\frac{1}{x^\sqrt{p(p+1)}} It comes up in connection with Black...
  21. P

    Some other curious questions about stars

    Do they move in the galaxy or just stand still ? How can we check if they are moving ? I mean meteors, not planets... And Would you please tell me what makes them move ? Thank you very much,
  22. P

    Curious Attraction: Investigating an Unexplained Phenomenon

    For about as long as I can remember, I have noticed that when I am standing somewhere while people are passing close by me I always feel a small "tug" as they go by. The little tug is always toward them. It always makes me wonder what causes it. After I feel the tug, about a second later I feel...
  23. U

    Curious about the open system interconnect model

    I'm curious about the open system interconnect model. I was wondering which layers of the OSI model are both hardware and software related? How does the OSI model package the data for transmission? I don't believe that the OSI model is perfect, what do you think could improve it? Do all...
  24. A

    Computer system curious question

    What are the specifications of your fastest home computer? I am curious to know what level is currently average for intelligent users (people that might use a computer for something other than email and websurfing). I currently have a Celeron 1.1 ghz, 370 Motherboard, 256MB Ram, 32 MB PCI...
  25. H

    A Curious Construction: Defining Z-Sets and Their Properties

    For each ordinal number i, recurisively define: \begin{equation*}\begin{split} Z_0 = \{ \varnothing \} \\ Z_i = (\bigcup_{j < i} Z_j) \cup \mathcal{P}(\bigcup_{j < i} Z_j) \end{split}\end{equation*} Definition: A set S is a Z-set iff there is an ordinal i such that S \in Z_i...
  26. M

    Discovering a Simple Inequality for Divisor Count in Positive Integers

    I know that this isn’t very practical but I discovered the following curious inequality when I was playing around with d(n) where d(n) gives the number of divisors of n \ \epsilon \ N. If n has p prime factors (doesn’t have to be distinct prime factors e.g. 12 = 2^2 \ 3 has got three prime...
  27. R

    The TOE: Does It Explain Everything?

    The TOE should explain EVERYTHING. We may not know what it is, but if it does indeed explain everything, odds are that we already possesses a formula which describes a very commonplace phenomenon of physics, but have not yet recognized the universality of that phenomenon.
  28. Dal

    DNA - How Different Genes Coexist in Our Bodies

    So,... this strands of DNA is what makes everyone of us unique and they're in every organs, tissues, blood...etc right? When there is an organ transplant, the part(or organ) that you're accepting has its own genetic stature so doesn't the body reject the new part? Once you acquired a new...
  29. P

    How much schooling do the experts on this forum have?

    For those of you leared ones who post a lot of answers to our tough(ha ha) questions, what kinda and how much schooling do you have and from where? Pan
  30. MathematicalPhysicist

    Raymond Smullyan's Recreational Math Paradox on Page 189: Can it be Solved?

    in this webpage there is a book about recreational maths in it there is a paradox by raymond smullyan, it's on page 189: http://www.g4g4.com/paul/BOOK.pdf what do you think can the paradox be solved?
  31. A

    Muons: Mysterious Time Travellers?

    I am curious about muons. I've been told that they appear lower in the atmosphere than they should. Ie. that they should be gone within a short distance of passing through the atmosphere, being created at a certain height and having a very short lifespan, but instead are found much lower. I...
  32. J

    I'm curious what you think of meditation or your own experiences

    I'm curious what you think of meditation or your own experiences. There is this thing called the relaxation response, when a person meditates regularly it's supposed to equip them with a kind of tool to prevent the flight or fight response, assuming in modern day society this response is...
  33. Zefram

    Is Psychology Becoming More Scientific?

    How scientific is it? What I mean is I just read Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! and in the very last section on "cargo cult science" he says: He goes on later to talk about a psychology experiment with rats which he says "discovered all the things you have to do to discover something...
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