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All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

theguardian.com

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Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#51

Post by copperx »

MattGaiser wrote: post #33
manigandham wrote: post #22

Recently I was having a debate with a friend who said "you thought about this lot" in a mocking tone, and I suddenly realized how strange it was that that phrase is used so commonly as an insult. Solid thought isn't just good but necessary and we're seeing the symptoms of this everywhere.

I have heard that a couple times as well and all but once it has been mocking. There is almost a built in anti intellectualism to some people.

rtpg above has hit the nail on the head. Mocking someone for climbing the wrong ladder isn't necessarily anti intellectualism.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#53

Post by NateEag »

zappo2938 wrote: post #20

I know how much Hacker News likes T.S. Eliot. ``` Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still. ```

That is a beautiful poem.

Eliot is often beyond me, but The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Ash Wednesday both made intuitive sense to me in many ways.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#54

Post by pmoriarty »

codechicago277 wrote: post #50

This quote comes from Blaise Pascal's Pensées, accessible here. "That is why we like noise and activity so much. That is why imprisonment is such a horrific punishment. That is why the pleasure of being alone is incomprehensible. That is, in fact, the main joy of the condition of kingship, because people are constantly trying to amuse kings and provide them with all sorts of distraction.—The king is surrounded by peo…

Just a bit more on why Pascal thought even a king is unhappy when he thinks about himself:

Whatever condition we picture to ourselves, if we muster all the good things which it is possible to possess, royalty is the finest position in the world. Yet, when we imagine a king attended with every pleasure he can feel, if he be without diversion, and be left to consider and reflect on what he is, this feeble happiness will not sustain him; he will necessarily fall into forebodings of dangers, of revolutions which may happen, and, finally, of death and inevitable disease; so that if he be without what is called diversion, he is unhappy, and more unhappy than the least of his subjects who plays and diverts himself.

Hence it comes that play and the society of women, war, and high posts, are so sought after. Not that there is in fact any happiness in them, or that men imagine true bliss to consist in money won at play, or in the hare which they hunt; we would not take these as a gift. We do not seek that easy and peaceful lot which permits us to think of our unhappy condition, nor the dangers of war, nor the labour of office, but the bustle which averts these thoughts of ours, and amuses us.

Reasons why we like the chase better than the quarry.

Hence it comes that men so much love noise and stir; hence it comes that the prison is so horrible a punishment; hence it comes that the pleasure of solitude is a thing incomprehensible. And it is in fact the greatest source of happiness in the condition of kings, that men try incessantly to divert them, and to procure for them all kinds of pleasures.

The king is surrounded by persons whose only thought is to divert the king, and to prevent his thinking of self. For he is unhappy, king though he be, if he think of himself.

This is all that men have been able to discover to make themselves happy. And those who philosophise on the matter, and who think men unreasonable for spending a whole day in chasing a hare which they would not have bought, scarce know our nature. The hare in itself would not screen us from the sight of death and calamities; but the chase which turns away our attention from these, does screen us.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#55

Post by ummonk »

war1025 wrote: post #18
ummonk wrote: post #17

Why would you sit quietly alone in a room when you could be enjoying a sauna, soaking up the sun at the beach, or picnicking in a park? I don’t think the problem is sitting alone with one’s thoughts - but rather that an indoor room isn’t a particularly desirable environment. At least it isn’t as undesirable as an airplane seat though.

I think the "in a room" is irrelevant to the quote. The entire idea is that people hate being alone with their thoughts and will do nearly anything to avoid being in that situation.

Okay as a personal example I like to take warm showers - they’re extremely comfortable and relaxing - essentially a makeshift sauna. I find that if I’m not deliberate enough about actually completing the shower, I can get lost in my own thoughts and spend over 30 minutes showering. Now I’m certainly more introverted than average, but I would guess that a lot of other people can likewise get lost in their own thoughts in a sufficiently relaxing environment.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#56

Post by birktj »

Do people here feel the same way? That is, do you feel that it is uncomfortable to not do anything? I, like most people I guess, am easily distracted with various things like reading HN or fiddling with whatever is on the table. When given the opportunity to sit down with nothing with my thoughts however, I always feel very enjoyable. It is definitely nothing I would think about as uncomfortable.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#57

Post by wruza »

ummonk wrote: post #25
manigandham wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The environment doesn't matter. If it does then you're already distracted from the thought.

That’s absurd. To take it to extremes, for example, if you made someone sit alone in the freezing cold and they complained, the environment is the issue not their ability to live alone with their thoughts.

Except the room wasn’t cold. The only extreme condition is that it is empty and there is nothing but yourself to inspect and feel.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#58

Post by imbnwa »

rtpg wrote: post #41
manigandham wrote: post #22

Recently I was having a debate with a friend who said "you thought about this lot" in a mocking tone, and I suddenly realized how strange it was that that phrase is used so commonly as an insult. Solid thought isn't just good but necessary and we're seeing the symptoms of this everywhere.

The person's point is likely that you spent a lot of energy on something that probably doesn't matter. This might be subjective, of course, but it is possible to think about something for longer than you should. Navel-gazing isn't a virtue. Though ideally you probably want to be with people who think that the same stuff is important.

Immediate action isn't a virtue either, and trust me, I grew up with people who think their immediate action is virtuous enough, and no, you're not gonna get much community from that in the last resort as reassuring as it appears in real-time; most people do not recognize their own anxieties spurring them into some form of immediate action or other.

Also, we don't know what the subject was between OP and whoever, so its kinda hard to gauge what kind of lesson to derive from it

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#59

Post by violetgarden »

I think we all crave to be engaged in something. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to not be able to sit in a plain room doing nothing. We have an innate desire to create, to solve problems, to interact with others. That doesn’t mean we don’t think and can’t be preoccupied or entertained by our thoughts. I think most of us just tend to be engaged in something mindless like showering, walking, or driving while we do our thinking.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#60

Post by Cyph0n »

rtpg wrote: post #41
manigandham wrote: post #22

Recently I was having a debate with a friend who said "you thought about this lot" in a mocking tone, and I suddenly realized how strange it was that that phrase is used so commonly as an insult. Solid thought isn't just good but necessary and we're seeing the symptoms of this everywhere.

The person's point is likely that you spent a lot of energy on something that probably doesn't matter. This might be subjective, of course, but it is possible to think about something for longer than you should. Navel-gazing isn't a virtue. Though ideally you probably want to be with people who think that the same stuff is important.

Everyone has spent a longer time than necessary thinking about something that is subjectively useless. Mocking someone for doing so demonstrates nothing more than a lack of self-awareness.
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