The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart (The CBC Massey Lectures)

by Astra Taylor

The words curiosity, security, and insecurity all share a root. They stem from the Latin word cura —meaning worry, care, attention, and study. There is no learning without insecurity, without opening oneself up to experiences new and unknown. When we talk about something being secure, we typically mean that it is fixed in place; when we talk about being secure ourselves, we mean having the assurance of knowing what comes next. To be insecure, then, means being unfixed and unsure, to be in a place of possibility. Depending on the context, this kind of insecurity can be unpleasant or even terrifying, and it is especially awful when it is foisted on us by those looking to take advantage of our disorientation. But under the right conditions—when it is buttressed by a more fundamental kind of material security and self-confidence—it can also be generative and liberating. You cannot have real curiosity, or creativity, if everything is locked down and you know what comes next. Being open to new ideas means being open to your own limitations; being willing to experiment means being willing to possibly fail, and also willing to learn something that might change you.