NaiveTortoise comments on Curiosity: A Greedy Feeling

[NaiveTortoise]

I just re-read your post one more time and want to comment that I can strongly relate to this section in particular:

The best I’ve ever been able to do is to relate to my studies a little bit like it’s a sport.

I get into the zone. I see how quickly, how effortlessly, how accurately I can answer problems. How fast can I read this chapter? What’s the craziest organic molecule I can draw and then name?

I try to invent my own problems. I rewrite passages in my own words. I don’t just try to answer the exercises and remember the concepts. I try to remember what the exercise questions were, or even to make up my own exercise questions. It’s the next best thing to tutoring someone else.

I’m not being guided by curiosity. I’m being motivated by competitiveness and restlessness and the desire to test myself, to push the limits. When I’m at my best in my studies, I’m acting more like a fiercely competitive soccer player, or maybe like the stereotype of a hot-shot fighter pilot.