Should You Get Out of Your Comfort Zone?

What do the most creative people have in common? How open-minded are you, really? And what’s wrong with ordering eggs Benedict?

Take the Big Five inventory:

freakonomics.com/bigfive

SOURCES:Max Bennett • , co-founder and C.E.O. of Alby. David Epstein • , author and journalist. Ayelet Fishbach • , professor of behavioral science and marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Alison Gopnik • , professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Steve Jobs • , co-founder and former C.E.O. of Apple. Oliver John • , professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Daniel Kahneman • , professor emeritus of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University. Claude Shannon • , 20th century mathematician and computer scientist. Jannik Sinner • , professional tennis player. Christopher Soto • , professor of psychology at Colby College. Dashun Wang • , professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University. Kaitlin Woolley • , professor of marketing at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.

RESOURCES:A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains, • by Max Bennett (2023). • " Exploration vs. Exploitation: Adults Are Learning (Once Again) From Children • ," by Alison Gopnik ( Observer, • 2023). • " Motivating Personal Growth by Seeking Discomfort • ," by Kaitlin Woolley and Ayelet Fishbach ( Psychological Science, • 2022). • " Understanding the Onset of Hot Streaks Across Artistic, Cultural, and Scientific Careers • ," by Lu Liu, Nima Dehmamy, Jillian Chown, C. Lee Giles, and Dashun Wang ( Nature Communications, • 2021). • " Improv Experience Promotes Divergent Thinking, Uncertainty Tolerance, and Affective Well-Being • ," by Peter Felsman, Sanuri Gunawardena, and Colleen M. Seifert ( Thinking Skills and Creativity, • 2020). Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, • by David Epstein (2019). • " Openness to Experience • ," by Robert R. McCrae and David M. Greenberg ( The Wiley Handbook of Genius, • 2014).

EXTRAS:Big Five Personality Inventory • , by No Stupid Questions • (2024). • " David Epstein Knows Something About Almost Everything • ," by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2021).