Creativity and curiosity are two of the definitive traits of the human race. For thousands of years, our unique sense of ingenuity has propelled us through time and space to create the greatest and most prominent civilization in our Earth’s history. Without a natural sense of curiosity, we would be unable to advance our society in thoughtful and meaningful ways. It is for this very reason that I find the growing lack of individual creativity unnerving.

Since the beginning of humanity’s simple existence, the process of discovery was fairly simple. An individual’s curiosity would lead to an idea. This idea would then grow into a plan. The plan would formulate into a reality, and a discovery would then be formed. These discoveries form the backbone of our culture. We need new and complex discoveries every day to fuel our everlasting hunger for advancement, and in order to fuel this hunger, we need curiosity.

I do not know what has lead our society to its decline in individual curiosity. Maybe the internet has extinguished our sense of wonder, or perhaps the instant speed of cell phones has squandered the outlook of our youth. A research project at the University of William and Mary has been tracking the decline of youthful creativity since the seventies. They discovered that children have become less imaginative and develop less unusual thoughts.

Whatever the case, the fact remains that we are looking at a bleak and hopeless future if we can not reverse this creative dry spell that we are experiencing. We need to teach our younger citizens and children that one of the most valuable qualities that a person can possess is the ability to be curious, or else we may be headed farther away from the bright utopia that we wish to form.