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Being Bored Is Good

thewalrus.ca

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Re: Being Bored Is Good

#51

Post by ne01 »

stcredzero wrote: post #6

If it weren't for the crushing boredom of the suburbs when I was a child, I might not have learned how to program computers. I would never have thought so much about spaceships. The original Star Wars trilogy wouldn't have been nearly as cool to discover. I also play traditional music, though boredom wasn't part of my discovering that. However, silence was a big part of traditional music, in the past. You need empty…

I really like this:

> However, silence was a big part of traditional music, in the past.

A glass is useful because of its empty space. You need the emptiness to fill it up with something. For inventions/ideas/startups, you need some empty space in your mind.

Think of a bored computer (one that is not used to its maximum capacity). It's like a computer that uses swap memory v.s. one that has a few GBs of free RAM. Which one would you rather use?

I say, it is good to be bored and stay bored -- don't rush to fill up the empty space.

Re: Being Bored Is Good

#52

Post by natalyarostova »

soverance wrote: post #47
ricardobeat wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I just don't understand how people can not feel lost if they don't create something that stems from their own selves For a majority of people, their greatest and most satisfying achievement will be their children. Nature doesn’t play around :)

> For a majority of people, their greatest and most satisfying achievement will be their children. This sentiment is grossly nauseating, to me. Having children is not an achievement. It may be satisfying and fulfilling, but it is in no way an "achievement". If your greatest contribution to the world is birthing a child, you have failed as a person.

Raising a productive, kind, and compassionate human being is very hard, and very much an achievement. You reduce it uncharitably by claiming it's simply 'birthing.'

Re: Being Bored Is Good

#53

Post by jonny_eh »

alexbanks wrote: post #23

Being trapped in a middle of nowhere town that didn't even have sidewalks, combined with the (mis)fortune of having parents that couldn't possibly care less what I spent my time on all gave me everything I have today. Without those thousands of hours on the internet and nothing better to do, I would not be where I am today.

> I would not be where I am today

Where are you? Not in prison I hope.

Re: Being Bored Is Good

#54

Post by gdubs »

soverance wrote: post #47
ricardobeat wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I just don't understand how people can not feel lost if they don't create something that stems from their own selves For a majority of people, their greatest and most satisfying achievement will be their children. Nature doesn’t play around :)

> For a majority of people, their greatest and most satisfying achievement will be their children. This sentiment is grossly nauseating, to me. Having children is not an achievement. It may be satisfying and fulfilling, but it is in no way an "achievement". If your greatest contribution to the world is birthing a child, you have failed as a person.

Well, someday when people get old they’ll appreciate having young people to take care of them. Young people who’s value generation pays for their healthcare in retirement. We won’t solve every problem — of our own creation or otherwise — in one generation. Raising thoughtful, compassionate children takes hard work. A lot of people focus on the negatives of children — more population, crying on flights. They don’t consider that those kids will literally be in the pilots seat in 20 years.

Re: Being Bored Is Good

#55

Post by roansh »

soverance wrote: post #47
ricardobeat wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I just don't understand how people can not feel lost if they don't create something that stems from their own selves For a majority of people, their greatest and most satisfying achievement will be their children. Nature doesn’t play around :)

> For a majority of people, their greatest and most satisfying achievement will be their children. This sentiment is grossly nauseating, to me. Having children is not an achievement. It may be satisfying and fulfilling, but it is in no way an "achievement". If your greatest contribution to the world is birthing a child, you have failed as a person.

Though it may not be an "achievement" (something above average), I would not go as far as to say "you have failed as a person".

Here is another perspective: Having children and providing for them is actually a huge contribution to the society. At the end of the day, we want to keep our knowledge (understanding of the universe, etc) afloat. And the only way to do that is by having children and educating them about it.

Re: Being Bored Is Good

#56

Post by conception »

brootstrap wrote: post #10
stcredzero wrote: post #6

If it weren't for the crushing boredom of the suburbs when I was a child, I might not have learned how to program computers. I would never have thought so much about spaceships. The original Star Wars trilogy wouldn't have been nearly as cool to discover. I also play traditional music, though boredom wasn't part of my discovering that. However, silence was a big part of traditional music, in the past. You need empty…

Modern music is a mirror image of the internet culture as well. Blasted with as many synth hooks and processed vocal melodies as possible. I was recently turned onto this band called Wand. If you want to feel some delicious space in a song, check out Scarecrow by Wand. The video is amazingly simple too. The constant bombardment of shit is so real though. I want to spend time with my wife and kid. Sometimes it's hard…

Random rec but first listening to this song I got a Dawn of Midi vibe. You should check them out - their album is basically one continuous song so you can't really sample a single track and get a feel for how everything is just a single flow. Just start Dysnomia on track 1 and let it go.

Re: Being Bored Is Good

#57

Post by markkanof »

soverance wrote: post #47
ricardobeat wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I just don't understand how people can not feel lost if they don't create something that stems from their own selves For a majority of people, their greatest and most satisfying achievement will be their children. Nature doesn’t play around :)

> For a majority of people, their greatest and most satisfying achievement will be their children. This sentiment is grossly nauseating, to me. Having children is not an achievement. It may be satisfying and fulfilling, but it is in no way an "achievement". If your greatest contribution to the world is birthing a child, you have failed as a person.

You might not consider giving birth to a child an achievement (not sure I even agree with you there), but for many people the work they put into raising their children and the ultimate impact that those children have on the world can far exceed the impact of any software project.

Re: Being Bored Is Good

#58

Post by shados »

mruts wrote: post #45

Has anyone considered that the ability for people to be easily distracted reveals a weakness in themselves? i.e we all wish we were more bored so we could discover our "true" selves. If you're distracted all the time by twitter or bullshit or whatever, you really only have one person to blame: yourself. It would definitely be easier for everyone's self image if we weren't exposed to the parts of ourselves that we fou…

Absolutely. I'll totally admit its my fault. But the fact is that 20-30 years ago, even though I had the same personality I have today, with the same weakness, it just wasn't a problem.

A similar situation is with food in America. I'm from another country and had a pretty healthy weight. Then I moved to the US. All the weight again and associated health problems hit me like a truck. I didn't change as a person, but massive amount of ridiculously cheap food everywhere just wasn't (as much) of a problem in my home town, so I was healthy. NOT ANYMORE!

Re: Being Bored Is Good

#59

Post by [deleted] »

jokoon wrote: post #35

I often have this weird fear that I wont accomplish anything in my life like it is some sort of personal failure. Meanwhile I'm able to write about game ideas, code them, create some characters and story and background, even though it doesn't lead to anything since it's more of a hobby, but I fail to make it into a job. I love to think, create, try to design little things, and honestly that's the best pleasure I have…

[deleted]
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