i spoke once with kate about the difference between the words 'curious' and 'inquisitive' for a college application (3 words that describe you). princeton?
of course she wanted words that sounded cherishable as well as smart, bright. curious. she chose curious because of the strong 'cur-'. curious is an aggressive word, it digs like a shovel. whereas inquisitive smacks of inquisition, inquiry, iniquity even? probably not. :^D
i don't know whether i'm a curious person. with certain people my curiosity is turned completely on, i want to take my fingers and scoop away at their facades and periphery. because i know that what they give most people is just that. but that they retain some small pinecone core of themselves. the difference between people who love to talk and give everyone everything that they possess with both hands. which is attractive for some i'm sure.
it's not the difference between shallow and deep exactly. nor easy and difficult. it's perfectly apparent though. and with some people my curiosity is just a wet towel drying on the radiator. indifferent and becoming more so.
it shouldn't matter how well you know the person. but it does. the arrogance of curiosity is that it imagines itself appeased. in which case it might not be curiosity at all. possibly then, just politeness. or the residuals of friendship.
of course she wanted words that sounded cherishable as well as smart, bright. curious. she chose curious because of the strong 'cur-'. curious is an aggressive word, it digs like a shovel. whereas inquisitive smacks of inquisition, inquiry, iniquity even? probably not. :^D
i don't know whether i'm a curious person. with certain people my curiosity is turned completely on, i want to take my fingers and scoop away at their facades and periphery. because i know that what they give most people is just that. but that they retain some small pinecone core of themselves. the difference between people who love to talk and give everyone everything that they possess with both hands. which is attractive for some i'm sure.
it's not the difference between shallow and deep exactly. nor easy and difficult. it's perfectly apparent though. and with some people my curiosity is just a wet towel drying on the radiator. indifferent and becoming more so.
it shouldn't matter how well you know the person. but it does. the arrogance of curiosity is that it imagines itself appeased. in which case it might not be curiosity at all. possibly then, just politeness. or the residuals of friendship.