Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Wurman's Curiosity
I was looking for some clips with Richard Saul Wurman and found this Charlie Rose interview broadcast three and half years ago, but the interview was probably earlier. He had just written one of his Understanding books. This time on healthcare.
Wurman has made millions on his curiosity and as Rose states his ability to analyze and simplify things so they can be understood by a wider audience. Wurman agrees "To assuage my curiosity and I'm not very smart so I make these books so I can understand the things that interest me."
Rose: Tell me what we will learn in this book"
Wurman: I can't tell you what you'll learn. I can tell you what I learned from doing it."
Wurman says the blessing of his life is the recognition of how ignorant he is and the desire to learn. "My expertise is in my inabilities." He lives on the charge of going to find the answer.
In his book, Wurman says we know more about how our cars run than how our bodies work. Why is this? He states its because we don't like things that are immeasurable, of which we don't have the exact answers.
Wurman's Information Anxiety 2 and LATCH model have been featured in my class for several years. I have been inspired by his embrace of curiosity, his dedication to finding patterns, and his vision of life as a conversation where we ask good questions.
The Wurman segment on this clip begins at 38 minutes. I am glad we live in a world where you don't have to wait up to 12:10 or 12:40 to see a 15 minute segment you might have some interest in. Shout out to YouTube and the ability to share.
posted by well-executed buffet at 9:51 PM
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