Ask HN: How do I find out what I am curious about?
I dabbled in many things but didn’t manage to focus on anything much unless it is related to my work. How do I discover what I am really curious about?
I think that curiosity comes from appreciation. A car isn’t just a car once you understand how it works. A walk in the forest isn’t the same once you learn a bit about plants or pay attention to birdsong. Once you start sketching, art galleries come to life.
One thing I did was to have a todo list for things I don’t understand. For a while, I was reading about rainbows, doppler radars, transmissions, countries, plants etc. It might have been forced curiosity, but it planted seeds for genuine curiosity.
I have also read that sketching is the art of noticing, more so than photography. Stopping to notice things is important.
General: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2C_jShtL725hvbm1arSV9w
Logistics: https://www.youtube.com/c/Wendoverproductions
Art: https://www.youtube.com/user/Nerdwriter1
Woodworking: https://www.youtube.com/c/laurakampf
Workshop stuff: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPO4D4-UeeFQceK8XrgwXug
Workshop, manufacturing: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChWv6Pn_zP0rI6lgGt3MyfA
Electronics: https://www.youtube.com/c/DIYPerks
Machining: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThisOldTony
Cars: https://www.youtube.com/c/Petrolicious
Science: https://www.youtube.com/c/veritasium
My favorite way is to find people with passions. Ask them about what their passion is! Try it, with them if possible. If you like it, you immediately have someone to share that passion with. Not only that, but they can mentor you in it, say what worked for them, where to start, etc.