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Doing something is better than doing nothing for most people: study (2014)

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Re: Doing something is better than doing nothing for most people: study (2014)

#41

Post by elzbardico »

ambivalents wrote: post #31

A good illustration of this is riding the NYC subway. I think most people would choose a slower-moving local line if it shows up before the more efficient express line, even if the express would get you to your destination sooner.

I used to do that with bus lines, provided I could get a seat. Between 20 mins standing + 20 mins crowded fast bus line (standing) and 60 minutes comfortably seated with no wait, I always choose the later. But, I may be the exception, as I find riding the bus a pleasurable activity.

Re: Doing something is better than doing nothing for most people: study (2014)

#42

Post by Jeff_Brown »

elric wrote: post #28

Our society isn't exactly set up for "doing nothing", either. If you're just sitting somewhere without doing anything, you might be loitering, you'll start getting funny looks if this goes on for extended periods of time. On the other hand, if you're sitting somewhere and you're smoking, or reading, none of that seems to happen. I wonder if we're uncomfortable with other people's ability to do nothing .

In 2002, on my way to work in I think Berkeley (definitely somewhere in the Bay Area), I noticed some beautiful echoes in the subway station, and I stopped walking, stood still, and listened. A staff member walked up and asked if I was okay. I said yes. Maybe I explained what I was doing, I don't remember. A few minutes later three paramedics appeared, forcibly strapped me to a gurney, and took me to a hospital.

I protested, of course. They were clearly not being paid to listen to me.

Re: Doing something is better than doing nothing for most people: study (2014)

#43

Post by im3w1l »

Jeff_Brown wrote: post #42
elric wrote: post #28

Our society isn't exactly set up for "doing nothing", either. If you're just sitting somewhere without doing anything, you might be loitering, you'll start getting funny looks if this goes on for extended periods of time. On the other hand, if you're sitting somewhere and you're smoking, or reading, none of that seems to happen. I wonder if we're uncomfortable with other people's ability to do nothing .

In 2002, on my way to work in I think Berkeley (definitely somewhere in the Bay Area), I noticed some beautiful echoes in the subway station, and I stopped walking, stood still, and listened. A staff member walked up and asked if I was okay. I said yes. Maybe I explained what I was doing, I don't remember. A few minutes later three paramedics appeared, forcibly strapped me to a gurney, and took me to a hospital. I pr…

How long were you in the subway station listening? What happened at the hospital? And did you get a bill?

Re: Doing something is better than doing nothing for most people: study (2014)

#44

Post by Jeff_Brown »

ChrisLTD wrote: post #13
brianjlogan wrote: post #9

Curious if the study would have the same results today with the prevalence of Mindfulness meditation. Perhaps it's my predisposition since I've googled for it. But I see advertisements for Calm and Headspace. I think even on TV. I see "Mindfulness" centers, physical places to take classes and meditate. A whole commercial market has taken hold of this new interest of fighting back the confusion of modern life. My trou…

As someone that has regularly meditated for years now, I still wouldn’t say sitting alone with nothing to do is an enjoyable experience. You can turn it into an opportunity for meditation or other types of deep thinking, but that’s more like “work” than anything else.

Meditation can occupy a unique space between work and play. One of the goals of meditation can be an experience beyond, or at least parallel to, goal-awareness.

I say "can be" because there are multiple kinds of meditation. A famous meditation researcher whose name I've forgotten lists three: focused, wandering, and empathic. (I'm not sure those are the canonical terms for them.) Wandering is my favorite.

Re: Doing something is better than doing nothing for most people: study (2014)

#45

Post by retskrad »

I'm 27 years old and I don't have much purpose in life. am I'm kind of becoming desperate, to be honest. I have always thought about becoming a programmer but I don't know where to start.

What programming language do you learn first? What languages and skills do you need to learn to become hire-able by a company?

Re: Doing something is better than doing nothing for most people: study (2014)

#46

Post by Jeff_Brown »

______- wrote: post #19

> The investigation found that most would rather be doing something – possibly even hurting themselves – than doing nothing or sitting alone with their thoughts This brings up an old saying I learned years ago: If you're going to do nothing, don't do it here Meditation is being active doing nothing. It's paradoxical, just like Zen koans are paradoxical. I don't meditate in the cross legged position however, and drift…

Switching on a podcast comes even more naturally to me. It's like I've outsourced a big fraction of my thinking. It's simultaneously delicious and repulsive.

Re: Doing something is better than doing nothing for most people: study (2014)

#47

Post by bopbeepboop »

dQw4w9WgXcQ wrote: post #32
gwgundersen wrote: post #24

Ever since reading Bertrand Russell's "The Conquest of Happiness", I've thought a lot about the importance of being able to sit inside my own head. One quote that I wrote down: > A life too full of excitement is an exhausting life, in which continually stronger stimuli are needed to give the thrill that has come to be thought an essential part of pleasure. A person accustomed to too much excitement is like a person w…

>substituting titillations for profound organic satisfactions, cleverness for wisdom, and jagged surprises for beauty... ...And porn for relationships and intimacy. If there's any modern ill that has exacerbated our inability to be comfortable with boredom (which is essentially inner loneliness) it's porn. It's an escape for loneliness and a terrible salve that leaves the intrinsic desires for intimacy and connection…

I think it’s a mistake to blame porn, rather than realizing porn is a self-medication for people targeted by institutional and pervasive misandry.

I understand even after several generations of men being abused, people aren’t ready to admit man-hating is a real problem in modern US society. I would encourage people to view education statistics where men have trailed women for forty years — yet receive no institutional support, while female-focused programs are lauded by the press. Or sentencing statistics, where the gap between men and women for the same crime is three times the sentencing gap between whites and blacks — something most of us recognize as a problem.

It’s the same thought process that blames video games for men staying home rather than assessing why they might rationally choose to isolate in a fictional world instead of embrace broader society.

Re: Doing something is better than doing nothing for most people: study (2014)

#48

Post by mikewarot »

retskrad wrote: post #45

I'm 27 years old and I don't have much purpose in life. am I'm kind of becoming desperate, to be honest. I have always thought about becoming a programmer but I don't know where to start. What programming language do you learn first? What languages and skills do you need to learn to become hire-able by a company?

It doesn't really matter what you learn, as long as you actually start, and keep up with it.

Re: Doing something is better than doing nothing for most people: study (2014)

#50

Post by pessimizer »

This study doesn't make much sense. If the question is whether people would rather study and interact with the world or just ruminate and narcissisticly contemplate their own thoughts, the answer should be obvious, unless you've met anyone who enjoys the idea of being buried alive. I bet fitness people would be fine with this short-term solitary confinement, because they're at least entertained by their own bodies.
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