Most humans want to learn. We want to learn about ideas, ways of doing things, research findings, what others do and think. We want to acquire information and skills. Why? We may want to obtain practical reinforcers such as better jobs or better gardens. There is something beyond the practical though. For many of us, learning is an end in itself. We take pleasure in learning something new. I sometimes tell my family and facebook friends what I just learned, e.g, that there are hundreds of billions of galaxies with hundreds of billions of stars each. That bit of knowledge does not have any practical value for me, but having it makes me bigger and better than I was before. Knowldege expands us, it enables us, it gives us power and confidence. What have you learned today? Tell me. Tell someone else. Then use that knowledge, if you can, for some good purpose.

What leads you to want to learn?

John Malouff, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology