Heard an interesting interview today with 2 Canadian experts on boredom, prior to their upcoming book launch. It's a topic that would always be interesting to me, but of course, in the time of isolation, it is particularly timely. I don't often experience boredom, and sometimes express disbelief when people say they are bored... there is always something to learn about! Give me a stack of books, some art supplies and an internet connection and it is hard to imagine getting bored. Yet, it does happen occasionally. And when it does, I think about the creativity to come, as it inevitably does. But it is uncomfortable in the moment. This interview, however, had me rethinking my frankly holier-than-thou attitude about when others are bored. Jeez, Roberta, give people a break, eh? Everyone experiences boredom differently. And for those who normally are running all the time, I have new appreciation for how they may be experiencing boredom at this time. I particularly enjoyed the aspect of the interview of how boredom emerges when we have a lack of agency over our own lives... interesting stuff. They didn't get into whether this differs for introverts and extroverts, as I suspect it does, but maybe that's a reason to get the book (no audiobook yet, fingers crossed...).
Anyways, it was fascinating, and worth a listen.
CBC's The Current's Matt Galloway interviewed James Danckert and John Eastwood, co-authors of Out of My Skull: The Psychology of Boredom.
Listen to the interview (recommended)
About the book
