The Curiosity Cycle

by Jonathan Mugan

Through curiosity, children carve out concepts from the environment that they assemble into models to describe the world. Children then test those models to see how well they predict what they observe, and they use the results from those experiments to form new concepts and models---leading to the next round of the curiosity cycle. However, our children are more than passive observers. They are an embodied part of the world and have brains that are predisposed to see the environment in particular ways. To get the most from their curiosity, children must build models about the intentions of those around them and the tendencies within themselves. These curious minds will be entering a world that is increasingly dominated by computation. Computers are becoming better at understanding the physical environment, and this will transform the workplace and alter how we spend our free time. This book explains how your child can understand how a computer thinks and how your child can leverage his or her curiosity to thrive in a world with intelligent computers where human creativity is valued above all else.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Science

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 2012

Reviews

[Tim Scholze · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, however, I cannot remember if I learned anything from it other than curiosity is something that can be learned with a lot of practice and a lot of continuous research.

[David Schuster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dog-eared about 1/3 of the pages in this little book. If I didn't have such a weirdly wonderful circle of friends, I am quite sure I would have dog-eared far more. But as a consequence of being surrounded by nerds, I am already doing a lot of the wonderful things the book suggests.

It's ultra dense, which makes it a quick read. I don't believe that the author had much editing help; it feels like something I would write if I had his background. However, it's a fun mix of science and anecdotes about his own weird kids and the crazy things he's subjecting them to make them better.

Buy the book.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written, well thought-out book, though not exactly comprehensive. I realise a second edition has been released, so my thoughts are based on an outdated copy, but while the information and techniques presented make a good deal of sense in theory, I suspect the practice of employing the Curiosity Cycle in one's own life would be quite difficult in some respects.

The analogous relationship between children (or the way they learn) and robots, which is a concept that builds gradually throughout the book, seems a little laboured to me. I appreciate Dr. Mugan's expertise in robotics, programming and AI research, but I'm not convinced the principles used in that field can so easily be transferred to human learning.

Nevertheless, this book is chock-full of good advice and insight regarding how children actually do think, and how to leverage their natural curiosity to affect constant learning. Were my children not already grown into young men, I could see myself using many of the techniques described.

As a bonus, Dr. Mugan offers a glimpse into the reality of artificial intelligence, and its pursuit, which is quite welcome, at least by me.

The Curiosity Cycle is definitely worth the read.

[Borislav Iordanov]

Very light reading, essentially an resume of what passes these days as common knowledge about how to teach children to "perform". It starts with a nice observation: that children build models of the world in their brain and that when the model doesn't fit perfectly anymore, there is a curiosity arousal, but it never develops that idea very far. Could have been a nice article instead of a full length book.

[Steve Graham]

Recommendation: Prepare your kids for the Singularity: http://singularityhub.com/2012/02/11/...