The Transformative Power of Curiosity — A Conversation with Scott Shigeoka
For his podcast Courageous Conversations, host Ken Futernick interviews author and curiosity expert Scott Shigeoka. They explore how cultivating deep curiosity can break through toxic conflict and enhance understanding in personal and educational contexts. Shigeoka shares insights from his book Seek, discussing the transformative potential of curiosity and how to teach it.
What makes students, or all of us for that matter, incurious? What gets in the way? Are some of us simply born to be more curious, or can it be taught? Can the desire to understand be extinguished? Tune in to hear Scott’s answers to these questions and his reflections on the various ways curiosity can spark deeper learning and strengthen our schools.
Saving Academia: A Conversation with Rep. Burgess Owens
In a CATO Institute panel discussion, Prohuman Foundation advisor Erec Smith joined Representative Burgess Owens and co-panelist Andrew Gillen to dissect issues in higher education—ideological influences, rising costs, and student debt—while examining the Department of Education’s role. Representative Owens, as Chairman of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee in congress, lends a critical perspective, hinting at potential shifts in education policy.
OWENS: How does every other industry work? It works from innovators. From those who are incentivized to get the best product out. If they do that, they make more money than those who don’t do that. So, we need to bring the free market into the process… I would love to get rid of [DoE] to be honest with you, but we have to go through a [legal] process. What can we do in between? Well how about if we start looking at things like student loans being handled by Treasury? How about if we look at civil rights being handled by the DOJ? And then, how about block-granting and sending the money down to the states, so the states can do what they do best?
10 Ways to Avoid Being Fooled
Gurwinder, in his Substack The Prism, shares ten mental shortcuts to cut through confusion. He urges readers to embrace humility, question biases, and seek timeless wisdom over fleeting trends. His practical heuristics promise sharper discernment and a deeper connection to truth in an age of division and distraction.
Since our brains are made for small ideas rather than big ones, the best way to discern truth is not with elaborate, all-encompassing philosophies but with simple, easy to follow instructions called heuristics.
A heuristic is a mental shortcut, a way to shrink the sky so it fits the mind. Since a heuristic cuts corners and simplifies reality, it should be used as a rule of thumb and not a universal law.
Below I present to you 10 heuristics that I use to avoid being fooled.
Universities Must Reject Creeping Politicization: Now is the time to return to core principles.
Daniel Diermeier and Andrew D. Martin, in The Chronicle of Higher Education, argue that American universities must combat creeping politicization by recommitting to excellence, free expression, and accessibility to preserve their core mission. They propose these principles as a shield against ideological drift, ensuring campuses remain hubs of reason and innovation amid broader polarization.
The first principle is excellence. We must be committed to it above all else, in every aspect of our work, free of political criteria. Some universities, perhaps influenced by pressure to rise in national rankings or a desire to gain political favor, have allowed excellence to become compromised, but by muddling its focus on excellence, a university hampers its ability to provide life-changing learning, make pathbreaking discoveries, bring innovation to Main Street and medicine, enhance economic opportunity, and strengthen our national security.
My Date with Whimsy: How to Stage a Quiet Rebellion Against the Cult of Efficiency
Prohuman Foundation advisor Lexi Hudson, in her own Civic Renaissance, reflects on entertaining her daughter’s unhurried curiosity as a quiet rebellion against the “cult of efficiency,” urging readers to reclaim whimsy and play. She champions the joy of purposeless moments—like meandering conversations or savoring a sunrise—as vital to a well-lived life.
Doing things for their own sake cultivates joy and presence, both of which are essential for the life well-lived. And many worthwhile things in life are not efficient. I’m thinking of creativity, conversation, learning, and other joy-led activities. Long, meandering conversations with friends or loved ones, where the goal isn't to get from one topic to another quickly, can be slow and inefficient, but they're essential for building deep relationships and emotional connections. The time spent in a riveting novel might not render your company’s bottom line higher, but is important to leaving your soul nourished.
Meet the Author:
The Prohuman Book Club will meet on Thursday, Mar. 27 to discuss Lexi Hudson’s book “The Soul of Civility.” Lexi will join the conversation, hosted by facilitators Norah Edelstein and Dr. Martin Kettlehut.
Opinions expressed in selected articles do not necessarily reflect those of the Prohuman Foundation. We value diverse perspectives that enrich our understanding of topics close to our mission: to promote the foundational truth that we are all unique individuals, united by our shared humanity.
But do the States do this best or not? There's already a vast disparity between public educational outcomes in K-12, and even the states at the top have fairly uneven results from county to county. In that light, the free markets is already in place, and has deeply entrenched poverty and poor educational outcomes by virtue of school systems being tied to local taxes. By the time we get to higher education? It's too late. Kids who are under-educated for 13 years don't need "opportunities" at the college level, they need a do-over starting at Kindergarten.