Join us for Heterodox Academy’s Brown Bag Colloquium Series, a virtual seminar series designed to highlight the scholarship and thought leadership emerging from our community.

This colloquium will feature Todd Kashdan, Professor of Psychology at George Mason University presenting his latest research on curiosity as a psychological strategy.

The Underappreciated Science and Power of Curiosity

We’ve all heard that curiosity killed the cat, but in reality, it’s the secret sauce behind human achievement, vitality, deep connection, and resilience. Often given minimal attention as one of many useful personality traits, curiosity is a complex, high-octane psychological strategy that can be harnessed into a toolkit for producing a happy, rich, meaningful life.

In this talk, we’ll move beyond the clichés to explore the true mechanics of the hungry mind. We’ll begin with a provocative look at how curiosity functions, then dive into its diverse benefits and dimensions, and then explore a few strategies to cultivate this psychological strength.

This colloquium offered exclusively to HxA members on May 6, 2026 at 2:00-3:00 PM EST will include time for audience discussion and Q&A. Register today to join the conversation.

Not a member? Join here.

About the speaker

Dr. Todd Kashdan is a Professor of Psychology and Founder of the Well-Being Laboratory at George Mason University. He studies well-being, psychological strengths, mental agility, resilience, and purpose. He received the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology and ranks among the top 1% of global scholars with over 59,000 citations to his research. He published over 250 scholarly articles and authored several books including The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively.