Live from Tel Aviv, two nice Jewish boys.

Hi, I'm Aiton Weinstein, and I'm the Orm Meninger.

This podcast is made in cooperation with the Jewish Journal, www.jewishjournal.com.

What were the qualities that pushed mankind forward throughout history?

Deduction was an important element in our ability to understand the world around us.

Innovation certainly aided us in our pursuit to master the forces of nature.

But perhaps one characteristic above all others has driven our species forward.

Curiosity.

Curiosity is almost an instinct, an impulse to find an

answer to questions, the itch to find new questions to which we ought to seek answers, and the

ability to doubt and question everything around us. These abilities led us to be the dominant species

on earth and known universe, light years above any other form of life.

But a very reflexive question comes to mind when we speak of curiosity, and that is what is it that makes us curious?

It seems we are so eager to find answers to questions that we never stop to ask the question why

we're asking the questions. Dr. Mario Livio is a world-renowned scientist and the author

of six internationally acclaimed popular science books. He was a professor of physics at the

Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, and worked with the Hubble Space Telescope

from 1991 to 2015. His best-selling book, The Golden Racial, The Story of Phi, won the Peano Prize

and the International Pythagoras Prize for Popular Books on Mathematics. Dr. Livio's new book,

titled Why, What Makes Us Curious,

depicts his journey to understand the roots of curiosity. It's our great privilege to have Dr.

Mario Livio with us today to discuss this curious topic. Two Nice Jewish Boys is produced by

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