“It’s intellectual curiosity,” I said. “All great minds question the world around them. Copernicus asked, what if the Earth weren’t the center of the universe. Newton asked, why do objects fall to the ground. Shakespeare asked, can’t we think of a more descriptive word for the organs with which we see. You can’t just passively accept the world around you, you know.”
He looked up from his book. “I’m just not sure that googling ‘why are pincushions shaped like tomatoes’ counts as intellectual curiosity.”
“It’s interesting!”
He looked back at his book.
“Fine, if you don’t want to know, I’ll just put it on my blog. But I’m guessing more than one intellectually curious person will click on the link. And when they do, they will gain not only an understanding of the fascinating history of pincushions but also insight on the things that we gain and lose through mass production, an appreciation for the way humans value symbols.”
He turned a page.
“And,” I said, “They’ll find out that the strawberry tassels contain an little surprise.”