Boredom has a purpose. To understand and harness it, we need to give our minds more opportunities to experience it. In the rest of this post, I will explore the many ways our efforts to conquer boredom through technology have produced unintended consequences, including the near-total capture of our attention, the death of daydreaming, and the end... See more

the thing about boredom is that it sneaks up in places where we used to expect it. car rides. long walks. the slow parts of a meal when no one’s talking. but now we’ve armored ourselves against it with screens, headphones, and endless micro-distractions. the second boredom shows its face, we swat it away. it makes sense: boredom feels... See more