A new study so our grad assistants wouldn’t be succumbed to the very symptom they research i.e. Boredom tentatively leads to higher rates of heart attack (because people would smoke, drink and lead unhealthy lives).
I read somewhere that retired spies normally died within their first years out of service.
Boredom.
How could someone living in this age of over-stimuli arrive at this Medieval malaise?
The monotony of a desk job? “Next!”.
The ABC series “LOST” portrays various survivors of a fictional Oceanic flight, among them James Sawyer.
Even him, the least likely avid reader, reads whatever he can lay his hands on.
Or some people are bored from “having seen it all” attitude (repeated patterns, old scripts etc… even with new Central Casting).
Speaking of casting, we found some changes in Boston last week: Camelot being replaced by ex male model (whose daughter was also an aspired American Idol).
Or that Watergate break-in now replaced by ACORN New Orleans break-in.
And that town gets to see a double parade: one for the Super Bowl heroes, and the other, Mardi Gras next Tuesday. Party on.
No boredom there in French Quarter. There is a Cafe du Monde which opens 24 hours in French Quarter. I believe I saw a few Vietnamese work there as waiters.
French Colonial ambience in heartland America.
Or, if you push it, there is a new book, entitled “0”, the Value of Nothing. The author factors in hidden cost and opportunity cost (environmental etc…)
that should put the price of a hamburger to about $200 as opposed to 99 cents.
Wonder what the associated costs of boredom.
Government should put bureaucrats to conduct a National study on boredom, and how to prevent (stimulate) citizens into constructive action.
Like building a bridge to nowhere.
Once, when I came back from overseas (reverse culture shock), well-meaning ex-roommate from college even put me on a bus tour of Reading, PA with a blind man. Or when I took a Wilderness Survival course (spent a week camping solo on top of New Hampshire White Mountain), there was a Korean blind teammate joining us. Both instances I found stimulating. Even when I carry on my conversation by looking away from their stares.
No boredom there even when you were blind. So, it’s up to us, Netizen, to mix and match the right amount of stimuli, whether it came from sight, sound or smell. Cologne or crunching cereal.
I heard people talk about National Highway Safety Agency napping i.e. bored, until all the recalls came in from Toyota and Honda. They should have joined rank with the Maytag man. I know where things are heating up, and no boredom there: emerging nations. They are busy counting the dollars earned from exporting. I am going start a factory which makes money- counting machines in the East. Nobody ever falls to sleep while counting money, only dies of boredom.
Thang Nguyen 555 