For some, the promise of
technology for easy access to information that
was supposed to make us more free has devolved into constant distraction that can feel like enslavement to a cell phone. Even people who have less extreme
views might still feel that it is too easy to get lost in games and social media, browsing online instead of being
present, procrastinating instead of getting things done.
I’m in that camp. I’m
not an obsessive user of my phone, but I have found it easy to reach for it in
quiet times when I have nothing pressing. That used to be time I spent staring
into space. That could be very relaxing time. More importantly, I came up with
some of my best ideas in those times or shortly afterward. My brain was hard at work behind by vacant
visage, but now it is hard at work scrolling Facebook or watching YouTube videos.
Manoush Zomorodi took this problem to the listeners of
her WNYC podcast, Note to
Self, and challenged them to be more aware of their use of technology and
wean themselves from it to some degree. That experience, with some refinements,
is described in Bored and Brilliant,
and Zomorodi hopes it will extend the challenge to a wider audience.
I expected Zomorodi to
focus on how technology has captured our attention and eroded our ability to concentrate. She touches on this. However, the
theme of her book is that we need boredom for deeper cognition and creativity. In order to reach their most
creative states, our brains need a break from stimulation—we need to get bored.
The benefit of boredom,
in addition to training us to handle tedious tasks, is that it put our mind
into its “default state.” In this condition, our minds wander. We daydream. We
can imagine things and make connections that
would not be available to us if we were concentrating on something or
stimulating our brains.
The default state isn’t
universally good. We can fall into ruminating on problems and failures,
berating ourselves. That is not useful.
However, for most of us
daydreaming is positive. The lives we dream up for ourselves in such moments,
Zomorodi refers to it as “autobiographical planning,” can help us identify what
we want, solve problems and see ourselves as more capable.
Zomorodi presents seven
challenges to her readers. The idea is that readers would do one challenge a
day for a week. Some of the challenges are adaptable for continued or
periodically repeated practices. She describes how several Note to Self listeners responded to the challenges and made them
their own.
Bored
and Brilliant is not
about abandoning technology by a long shot. It is about making space in your
life to think in different ways, especially for the daydreaming that arises in
the dull, unstimulating moments in life.
Zomorodi writes in a journalistic style. The book is not loaded with
notes, or even a bibliography, like a more scientific text. However, she sites
research, interviews with specialist and other books within the text. The
benefits of boredom are documented. If you want to research the subject deeply,
you might skim this book for other sources. If you want to loosen your ties to
you cell phone or tablet, get out of the mental rat race and give your brain
space for a deep breath, try the challenges in this book; it is a good place to
start.
If you’re interested in
this book, you may also be interested in
A Mind for Numbers by Barbara A. Oakley
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
The Procrastination Equation by Piers
Steel
Quiet by Susan Cain
Zomorodi, Manoush. Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can
Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2017.
