TotW: Boredom, huh, what is it good for? (absolutely nothing?)

Boredom used to be a simple negative. From Beaudelaire's "worst evil" to "if you're bored, you're boring" to the anti-sleep rhetoric (as if sleep is some kind of null state), being "truly alive" also meant being inspired, on, active, go go going...

Now, in these days of constant, low-level, thoughtless stimulation (and overwhelm), when the go go going feels hectic and scarcity-driven, and inspiration is less joyful and more an expectation, more people are talking about how boredom is/can be an important part of a creative life or process.

What is a theory of boredom?

What is a better label or more sustainable metaphor for what is happening when we're resigned to being part of something we don't like, or when we're overly checked out?

Is there a good boredom and a bad boredom, or is all boredom a re-set, a time out, a necessary retreat? If there is a good boredom and a bad boredom, how do we talk about one vs the other? When have you felt one vs the other? If all boredom is good, how do we find ways to include it in our lives more? If some boredom is bad, how do you arrange to have good boredom?

Tags

• sleep is good duh
• topic of the week
• what's a better metaphor for an unexamined life
• boredom
• apathy