Atlas of Human Interests (AoI)
Are the Japanese more interested in nanotechnology than the German? How many people want to become musicians? Are salespeople conscientious? In the Behavioral Sciences, studies on the diversity of human interests are scarce. Comprehending better how different groups of people decide to invest their time and effort by pursuing certain interests instead of others can provide individuals, organizations and policymakers with a valuable tool for decision making. Thus, I propose the creation of the Atlas of Human Interests (AoI). Inspired in the Atlas of Economic Complexity, the AoI will provide a longitudinal catalogue indicating which interests people pursue or desire to pursue and in which degree. First, the AoI needs an initial typology of human interests, then those initial categories can evolve through analytical tools. To collect information, people will report (e.g., via questionnaires) which activities (I) they would rather and (II) they actually spend their time. This data will be combined with other measures (e.g., temperament and personality) to generate a comprehensive map containing analytics, correlations, clusters and patterns of interests regarding age, sex, education, nationality, etc. Data and the algorithms will be public, making this research a precious source of information for individuals and also for educators, organizations and policy makers.
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Attachment: Atlas_of_Economic_Complexity.png (145 KB)