Break Your Algorithm, Fuel Your Mind
A Curiosity-Based Thinking Guide to Seeing Beyond Your Ordinary
What did you first think about today?
Was it your own thought, or was it fed to you?
In our world, our lines are getting as blurry as our thoughts.
We live inside invisible architectures of information (a.k.a. algorithms) that are exceptionally good at their job. Their job is to learn what we like, what we fear, and what keeps us scrolling, and then feed us more of it.
It’s a feedback loop that feels personalized, but over time, it builds walls, trapping us in an echo chamber of our own feed-backed biases.
This isn’t just about seeing the same cat videos or political rants. It’s a deeper, more parasitic process.
Once you’re trapped in “your algorithm,” it begins to direct and feed on your thoughts, emotions, and actions. It’s a subtle but relentless training program.
Genuine curiosity, critical thinking, wonder, and hope get drained, replaced by a hollow mess of fear, suspicion, and dread. You may not even realize it’s happening until you notice the color has faded from your worldview.
But here’s the good news: we are all fully equipped with the ultimate tool to dismantle this trap. It’s the raw, authentic, genuine, personal curiosity we all carry. It is a critical thinking, problem-solving powerplant.
We just need to flip the switch and learn how to operate it. This is where we move from being passive consumers of information to active explorers of our world.
From Algorithmic Obedience to Active Curiosity
In a previous article "The Opposite of Curiosity is Obedience", I explored the idea that the opposite of curiosity is obedience. Algorithms thrive on our cognitive obedience. They work best when we passively accept what’s presented without question.
Following your algorithm is a modern form of surrendering your autonomy, allowing a system to tell you what to think, feel, and do.
Curiosity, in its purest form, is an act of rebellion against this.
Curiosity is the ever-present desire to see what’s over the wall, to question the premise, and to explore the spaces between the carefully curated posts in your feed.
Breaking free requires a conscious choice to move from a state of obedience to one of active inquiry. It means choosing to be the one who asks the questions instead of the one who only consumes the answers.
An Activity to Break the Algorithm: Biomimicrosity
How do you start thinking outside a box you can’t see? By intentionally adopting a completely alien perspective. I designed a Curiosity-Based Thinking process called Biomimicrosity that does just that. It’s simple, powerful, and you can do it right now.
Here’s the plan:
Think of an animal. Pick one you could easily lose 30 minutes learning fun facts about. A pangolin, a yeti crab, a tardigrade—the weirder, the better.
Go lose those 30 minutes. Dive into a rabbit hole of research. Learn about its habitat, its diet, its bizarre mating rituals, its unique survival mechanisms.
Identify a problem or task in your own life. It could be a project at work, a creative block, or even just planning your week.
Ask the core question: What if I solved the problem of ___(your problem or task)___ like a ___(the animal you just researched)___?
What happens when you try to solve a budget spreadsheet issue like a screaming hairy armadillo?
Or approach a difficult conversation like a vampire squid?
The initial absurdity is the point. You are forcing your brain onto a track it has never been on, miles away from the well-worn path of your algorithm. This jarring shift creates new neural pathways and reveals solutions you never could have conceived of from your default perspective.
The Science of a Curious Mind
This isn't just a whimsical exercise; it’s a way of intentionally creating what scientists call “intermediate levels of cognitive incongruity.” This is the sweet spot where information is just different enough from what we know that it sparks our curiosity and drives intellectual development.
Research consistently shows the powerful benefits of this state. A study from the University of California, Davis, found that when our curiosity is piqued, our brains become primed to learn and retain not just the subject at hand, but even incidental information.
In other words, the act of getting curious about a waxy monkey tree frog or a screaming hairy armadillo makes you better at learning everything.
Furthermore, researchers like
have demonstrated that curiosity is a key ingredient in developing well-being and meaning in life. It’s linked to greater job satisfaction, innovation in the workplace, and even greater intimacy in relationships.This isn’t about rebelling against technology. It’s about reclaiming authorship of your thoughts. With practices like the "What? to Wow!" and "Curiosity A-Z," Curiosity-Based Thinking gives you frameworks to think more deeply, more originally, and more freely.
By actively working out our curiosity, we’re not just breaking an algorithm; we’re building a more resilient, engaged, and fulfilling life.
Your algorithm wants you to be predictable. Curiosity is your declaration of independence.
Obedience is easy. Curiosity is powerful.
So go, get curious about something completely random. Solve a problem like a bone-eating snot flower worm. Reclaim your attention, and in doing so, reclaim your mind.
So the next time you feel yourself falling into the feed...
Stay curious!
Matt