Discovery

Autonomous discovery, discovery made on your own with minimal direction or assistance, is widely recognized in cognitive psychology and neurobiology as one of the most potent triggers of enduring, self-sustaining motivation.  But why is this true?  Why is it so much more exciting, satisfying, and likely to motivate continued activity, than following detailed directions to the same cognitive event?

The physiology of discovery

When someone stumbles upon an odd fungus on a fallen tree, an uncatalogued rock formation, or an arresting detail in an archival sketch, the brain treats that event in a fundamentally different way than it treats obtaining new information in an assigned chapter of a textbook.  The extraordinary power of the discovery moment results from specific cognitive, neurochemical, and evolutionary mechanisms which have been widely studied. 

The neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) dopamine plays a central, proximate role in the large, long-lasting effect of autonomous discovery.  It produces sensations of anticipation, curiosity, and a desire for learning, governed by what are known as Reward Prediction Errors and Information Prediction Errors.

A textbook is structured to minimize surprise. Concepts are presented logically, definitions precede examples, and outcomes are often announced before explanation.  Because your brain expects each step, the Information Prediction Error is low. The brain processes the information, but it triggers minimal release of dopamine.

But suppose that on a routine walk you encounter something unexpected such as a rare bird or beautiful flower you have been hoping to find.  The brain responds to this discrepancy between what it predicted (a routine walk) and what it perceives with a burst of dopamine (specifically phasic dopamine in the mesolimbic pathway).  Dopamine not only heightens focus in that exact instant; it also acts as a synaptic tag, dramatically strengthening long-term memory consolidation in the hippocampus.

Ultimate causes

Evolutionary biologists attribute the development of the dopamine response as the body saying "Pay attention. This is novel. Understanding it may have survival or adaptive value."  Evolution did not design the human brain to passively memorize abstract catalogs compiled by others; it designed the brain to navigate an uncertain environment, detect novel patterns, and experience an intrinsic neurochemical reward for figuring out whether the fitness-enhancing response to an unexpected event was fight, flight, or further investigation.

Implications for travellers

We encourage you to explore and discover on your own or in a small group.  Part of discovery is understanding that something is rare or surprising which requires preparation and study after the discovery.  So we encourage learning about the environments to be visited but we also suggest that the trip include frequent opportunities for unexpected encounters recognizing that they may strengthen your existing interests or lead to entirely new ones.