Embrace the proliferation of wonder

You can experience extra pleasure in information foraging when you discover a new way of learning more.

Search engines have their place, but also look to other resources, such as videos, educational events and books that provide an accessible introduction to a subject.

One way to reawaken wonder lies in your interactions with others. Many adults see arguments as aversive battles with the goal of conquering the other with your point of view. But this ‘argue to win’ perspective neglects the opportunity that disagreements offer for expanding wonder. To take advant...

Wonder will often go into high gear when you are confronted with an apparent anomaly or puzzle. Sometimes, people ignore anomalies as annoying exceptions to a simple explanatory story that they have in mind.

Zero in on phenomena that seem atypical or unclear – they can provide fuel for wond...

The more you engage in wondering, the more you will ask why you haven’t wondered more in the past. Wondering deeply is one of the few activities in life in which you can acquire something of great value at little or no material cost – something that can continuously enrich how you experience the ...

Wondering what would happen if something about the world was different can help you understand why certain things work the way they do.

Wonder is most powerful when it uncovers the causal structures that lie beneath and are responsible for surface phenomena. These structures often include e...

• A checklist can help ensure that you wonder in ways that are as fair and thorough as you’d like.
• Depending on the subject of your wondering, the checklist might include different items.
• To foster more moments of wonder, upon encountering a new phenomenon that is puzzling, you...

Examining the similarities and differences between related kinds or concepts can yield unexpected insights.

A range of studies has shown the value of contrasting cases for learning more deeply about a topic.

A periodic check-up can help you take stock of the insights you have recently gained – or prompt you to start wondering about areas of ignorance.

Ask yourself: have you learned anything new in the past month that has changed how you view or understand some aspect of the world? 

That childhood urge to ask ‘how’ and ‘why’ usually fades. But we can all learn to rediscover the joys of wide-eyed discovery

Wonder and the learning it encourages enable us to more fully engage with others.