Idleism

Not to be confused with “idealism.” Not everything needs to be productive. Life happens in the idle margins, margins that are shrinking by the day.

David Pennington

Today you rarely see the word “idle” except when used as a pejorative; to be idle is to be wasteful, and several of the most popular Internet startup companies have targeted underutilized resources such as idle cars (Turo, ZipCar), household equipment (SnapGoods), or empty bedrooms (Airbnb), allowing people to make use of them by renting them out... See more

Christine Rosen • On The Death of Daydreaming

Dogs have nowhere to be, but they

always seem to be down to go

just about anywhere.

Does the act of sitting in a park, patiently looking through a pair of binoculars and reading through field guides really deserve to be described with the same adjective usually reserved for angsty hardcore punk music, crusty anarchos and angry outcasts with ripped leather jackets?

If one considers punk as anything defiantly anti-capitalist,... See more

Alexi Gunner • idle gaze 067: slowpunk

“Slowpunk”

Sometimes when I’m parenting alone, I slip into a mental state I call “idling.” It happens when my toddler’s nearby but playing on her own, meaning I only need to pay her half of my attention.

Haley Nahman • #208: What is rotting, if not rest?

We can explore the ways in which our attention is generated, manipulated, valued and degraded. Sometimes attention might simply be a lens through which to read the events of the moment. But it can also force us toward a better understanding of how our minds work or how we value our time and the time of others. Perhaps, just by acknowledging its... See more

nytimes.com • Opinion | Michael Goldhaber, the Cassandra of the Internet Age - The New York Times

“Popular books such as What You Do Is Who You Are (2019) by the venture capitalist Ben Horowitz carry the implication that being and doing are synonymous. Busyness is a badge of honour, even a sign of moral superiority. Rest, in contrast, is often treated as if it’s passive and pointless. Indeed, I’ve noticed many people hardly think of rest as its

He took up this path not out of some particularly lazy disposition, but because of his unquenchable thirst for knowledge and understanding. ‘[T]o do nothing at all is the most difficult thing in the world, the most difficult and the most intellectual,’ Oscar Wilde observed decades before Cioran.

Costica Bradatan • Learning to Be a Loser: A Philosopher’s Case for Doing Nothing

After Work: A History of the Home and the Fight for Free Time by Nick Srnicek, Helen Hester is a intriguing and inspiring read that is perfect for anyone who has ever felt suffocated by the demands of domestic life, seeking a deeper understanding of the historical and philosophical roots of their struggles and a vision for a more liberated future.