There's also the long-standing idea that people come up with great/interesting ideas while in the shower (so much that it's an internet meme), and that's attributed to the shower being one of the few places where you don't have media or electronics trying to capture your attention.
Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
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Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#32"Tout le malheur des hommes vient d’une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos dans une chambre." "All the unhappiness of men arises from a single fact, which is from not knowing how to stay at rest in a room." (Blaise Pascal, Pensées, 139) It is no coincidence that the word 'idle' means both 'doing nothing' and 'being worthless'. I could write out a longer comment with some more thoughts on the heal…
All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.
Blaise Pascal
For another spin on it.
That quote is brilliant and profound. Sad that thinking is regarded as an afflicting disease and our devices are the cure.
I purposefully dedicate an hour to just do jack shit and be alone with my thoughts.
‘Oh you saw something in your mind? Relax it’s called an idea. Get used to them’
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#33I wonder how much of the current anxiety wave that seems to have stricken Millennials and Gen Z is because they have no idea how to be alone with their thoughts. Anecdotally, I have heard a great many jokes about needing a distraction due to negative internal discourse. Like if they are left alone for more than 5 minutes by themselves, they will inevitably spiral into depression. I have people in my life that need a…
Terror management, or how to evade thinking about our own death.
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#34As I grew older, there are certain things I have learned to enjoy more, such as slowness, inaction, loneliness, boredom. Boredom is typically the most controversial, so the reason here is that boredom first allows for moments you want out of, but also there's more: It expands the range of comfort zone of emotions and sets the ground floor of your emotions low enough that you can actually welcome more experiences as r…
Well as a hacker, boredom is the enemy and we’re always at war with boredom. For a hacker, boredom is a form of death.
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#35> It is important to note that participants did not rate thinking as an extremely enjoyable task, but simply as more enjoyable than they thought it would be, according to Murayama. On average, participants’ enjoyment level was around 3 to 4 on a 7-point scale Subtitle: you'll have a mediocre time doing it, but it'll be better than you expected!
As if that were not bad enough, the news-checking group seemed to enjoy their time more than the thinking group. The article seems to be pitching the study as showing that thinking is preferable to other activities, but the data shows that simply isn’t the case.
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Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#36Sometimes I wonder if our preoccupation with information consumption is a catalyst for our inability to have epiphanic thought. We’d probably have more Einstein-like breakthroughs in science if we weren’t constantly reading to find the answer and instead let our minds connect into the collective consciousness that already knows all.
I actually think it's the opposite. We put TOO much emphasis on epiphanic breakthroughs and often incorrectly attribute major discoveries to seemingly moments of epiphany. Einstein's biggest discovery took him decades to formalize, and definitely was not a eureka moment.
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#37As I grew older, there are certain things I have learned to enjoy more, such as slowness, inaction, loneliness, boredom. Boredom is typically the most controversial, so the reason here is that boredom first allows for moments you want out of, but also there's more: It expands the range of comfort zone of emotions and sets the ground floor of your emotions low enough that you can actually welcome more experiences as r…
Well as a hacker, boredom is the enemy and we’re always at war with boredom. For a hacker, boredom is a form of death.
Not my experience. I'm happy to hack things so I have more alone space and time too. I don't see the two opposed at all.
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#38There's also the long-standing idea that people come up with great/interesting ideas while in the shower (so much that it's an internet meme), and that's attributed to the shower being one of the few places where you don't have media or electronics trying to capture your attention.
Not just media and electronics; nearly all sensory input is minimized in the shower.
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#39"Tout le malheur des hommes vient d’une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos dans une chambre." "All the unhappiness of men arises from a single fact, which is from not knowing how to stay at rest in a room." (Blaise Pascal, Pensées, 139) It is no coincidence that the word 'idle' means both 'doing nothing' and 'being worthless'. I could write out a longer comment with some more thoughts on the heal…
Chambre would normally be translated as bedroom.
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#40Hmmm. Just got home. While driving I noticed several bad drivers. I immediately assumed they were holding their cell phone in one hand and looking at it. I was right. Then I thought of making bumper stickers: "Do you hold your spouse's hand as much as you hold your phone while driving?!?" Then I reached over and held my wife's hand.
Many pediatricians in Berlin (presumably all around Germany as well) have a poster showing parents doom-scrolling with the mention "how much did you talk to your kids today?". Brutal and relevant. I think of it every time I have a "I am in this picture and I don't like it" moment.
My friends who are parents feel so guilty if they ever look at their phone while with kids. That message might have gotten through too strongly.