Why?

Why are we more distracted by a cell-phone conversation, where we can hear only one side of the dialogue, than by an overheard argument between two people? Are children more curious than adults? What is the source of the morbid curiosity that causes bystanders to gather at crime scenes or traffic accidents? What evolutionary purpose does curiosity serve? How does our mind choose what to be curious about? Why? explores these and many other intriguing questions. Curiosity is essential to creativity; it is a necessary ingredient in art forms from literature to the visual arts to music. It is the principal driver of science, and yet there is no scientific consensus on why we humans are so curious or about the precise mechanisms in our brain that are responsible for curiosity. In Why?, insatiably curious and bestselling author Mario Livio investigates this very human phenomenon in an irresistible and entertaining book that will captivate anyone who is curious about curiosity. Book jacket.