I recently read The Curiosity Cycle by Dr. Jonathan Mugan. Dr. Mugan, having earned a PhD in Computer Science, is a research scientist with a focus on machine learning.

The Curiosity Cycle is written in three parts, “Constructing Knowledge”, “Children and Their Embodied Selves”, and “Your Child’s Future”. The target audience is, as the author states, parents of young children (from birth to about ten years old). At the end of each chapter, there is a “Tips On Getting Started” section for engaging a child in the curiosity cycle. The general style of writing is conversational with some subtle humor. For example, when discussing pattern matching, there is the following start to a sentence, “While family pets rarely surf the Internet, …”. Despite what seem like technically heavy topics, Dr. Mugan has consciously written this book to be accessible to all levels of technical savvy.

From the first chapter in Part I, I found myself in agreement with Dr. Mugan with respect to how to foster an environment and mindset of curiosity in young children. The general advice is that all the things that we adults take as given / for granted have embedded in them tiny lessons that we can pass on to children. The seemingly simple act of opening a door, or wondering about one’s favorite salamander, or constructing simple algebraic models all present themselves as opportunities to engage and prepare one’s child for an increasingly technological world.

Part I, Constructing Knowledge, explains how we learn about and understand the world around us by constantly updating our “models” for the world. How do we open a door? How do we learn that there’s a difference between a locked door and an unlocked door? How does failure help for us to refine our models? How can everyday events help to make math concrete? These are the types of questions that Dr. Mugan addresses with clarity. And given his academic background, he is uniquely positioned to do so without burdening the reader with technical jargon.

Part II, Children and Their Embodied Selves, is about how we think and remember, the (cognitive) biases we have and can be victim to, how we ought to argue, how we respond to authority, a general theory of mind, and who we are internally. For me, the section titled “Arguing to Agree” was the most interesting. How can one teach a child to have healthy debate and argument rather than one-sided “discussions”? Our emotions and our ego, both play a big role in how we respond to “being wrong” and while the advice in this section is focused on how to teach a child to gracefully concede an argument, many an adult could also stand to gain from the pointers. As the author does have a research focus on machine learning, he has had to venture into how we, humans, remember. Interesting also was how our memories are not quite as accurate as we may believe them to be or want them to be. In fact, some of our memories are just memories of us remembering our memories!

Part III, Your Child’s Future, gives the author’s vision of what skills today’s child will need in the child’s future to be competitive not just against other humans but against machines. As machines continue to be integrated into our lives and as they are steadily defeating humans in tasks that were once thought to be out of reach for machines (winning at chess or Jeopardy!), what competitive edge must today’s child have? Outside of job and career readiness, Dr. Mugan also discusses privacy issues, screen time, and other technological dangers. But it’s not all gloom and doom. The technological boom that we have been witnessing also empowers the individual in ways not seen in the last several generations. So what can one do to allow one’s child to exploit their creative potential and the technology available without succumbing to its vices? To find out, I encourage you to read the book.

The Curiosity Cycle is a fast, entertaining, and enlightening read for any adult who is curious.