Unlocking the Secret of How Interests Evolve

Plus 4 Micro-Adventures to Experiment With

Finding American kids in the heartlands of Kansas or the suburbs of Long Island who have a burning desire to master the art of sushi-making or the complex flavors of a Thai curry might be a challenge. Yet, across the globe, children in Tokyo and Bangkok are crafting these intricate dishes with ease. It's not embedded in their genes. Could it be that cultural immersion serves as the ultimate cooking class? Maybe kids observe adults savoring these exotic flavors, sparking their curiosity to research these dishes, learn the recipes, and then test their culinary skills in a few trial-and-error cooking sessions. Could this be how we develop new interests?

Or maybe there’s a better metaphor of how people get into sushi-making.

Could it be simple exposure like store window mannequins beckoning you to try bellbottom jeans?

Could it be an innate human desire to create and experiment that leads to such diverse interests?

Could the influence of social media and television cooking shows be driving these interests - the culprit for everything?

If you're interested in what drives us towards certain pursuits, you're about to uncover groundbreaking scientific findings. I’ll walk you through lessons learned from this absurdly complicated image along with a few more ideas and provocations…