One of the design faults of life is how easily it succumbs to monotony. We constantly want things to be something different. And this want is in contrast from our other wants about the future, say wanting to buy new clothes, wanting to go on a trip, wanting to spend more time with someone (which are all well defined or at least vaguely defined). This want is a want of something unexpected, something new that breaks the monotony. And for this precise reason, we cannot explain this want. I want to call this - A WANT FOR SURPRISE.
Having spent so many years of our life, we have to some extent, developed taste in things. We have a rough idea of our likes and dislikes. What we don’t have an idea of is #3.
I like
I don’t like
I don’t know whether I’ll like it or not
We know the people who bring us joy, who bring us comfort, yet we occasionally crave new people to talk to. Haven’t you felt the rush it gives you when you get to know someone for the first time? That’s the feeling of surprise (or shock) for you. We know the kind of movies we like to watch and the kind of books we like to read, yet we find ourselves searching for new genres to explore. We know the cuisines we find tasty, the kind of activities that bring us joy. Yet we spend countless hours searching for new restaurants and fun activities that we may come to enjoy.
Let’s look at the emotion each of these brings to us
I like => joy, happiness
I don’t like => disgust, sadness
I don’t know whether I’ll like it or not => surprise, shock
So are we looking for joy solely? or are we also looking for surprise? For if joy was everything we wanted, we would already have a good idea of how to get that and hence wouldn’t be relentlessly searching. Or maybe the search for surprise is a joy in itself of a different kind -- the joy of discovery.
(I suspect this is the motivation behind social media companies occasionally showing you videos or reels or books that are completely new and in no way related to your usage)