Curiosity Quote by Josh Hanagarne
““Test everything that can be tested. As soon as you think you know something, that's when you stop questioning it. Understanding kills curiosity. Understanding kills progress.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Tech Talk, Josh Hanagarne, 2023
Assuming you know something halts inquiry, which stifles curiosity and progress.
In simple terms: Thinking you know stops questioning, hurting growth.
Key Takeaway
Keep questioning even after understanding.
Themes
curiosity
inquiry
progress
knowledge
mindset
Mood
reflective
critical
motivational
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- research
- product development
- personal learning
- team meetings
Key Concepts
epistemology
critical thinking
growth mindset
Questions to Reflect On
- What assumptions do you hold that might block new questions?
- How can you test knowns regularly?
A Different Perspective
Understanding can create false confidence, limiting further exploration.
![“I work [at a library] because I love books, because I'm inveterately curious, and because, like most librarians, I'm not well suited to anything else. As a breed, we're the ultimate generalists. I'll never know everything about anything, but I'll know something about almost everything and that's…” quote by Josh Hanagarne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2cd/josh-hanagarne-28382_book_i-work-at-a-library-because-i-love-books_978428.jpg)
![“We have no clear ideas of the agency of [demonic] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but tells us plainly that he is always watching us, and desiring to sift us as wheat. I believe we give him no more than his due, when we charge him with having a…” quote by John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c75/john-newton-6629_abundance_we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of_2907.jpg)
![“[T]he question "What is everything?" has no meaning, even though it seems to be profound. [...] The point is, perhaps, that I am not looking for a verbal answer, just as when I ask for a kiss, I do not want a piece of paper with "A kiss" written on it. It is rather that metaphysical wonder looks…” quote by Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/705/alan-w-watts-9497_curiosity_t-he-question-what-is-everything-has-no_3984.jpg)
![“By profession a biologist, [Thomas Henry Huxley] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences. Absolutely nothing was uninteresting to him. His curiosity ranged from music to theology and from philosophy to history. He didn't simply know something…” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f46/h-l-mencken-245_absolutely-nothing_by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-h_5368.jpg)
