Why we are bored
And three paradoxes that cause boredom
Boredom is a lack of interest in our present situation. Nothing seems to be “interesting”. We tend to think “Nothing is interesting” and “I am bored”. Optionally, we might also be thinking “I wish I were somewhere else, doing something else”.
Hence, three conditions are necessary for boredom.
- A present situation that is not interesting
- Thinking about the “not interesting”-ness
- (Optionally) A future condition that is more interesting
The Problem
Paradox 1: A present situation that is not interesting
How do we come to realize that the present situation is not interesting?
Suppose we are at a conference. The speaker is rambling. The content is not particularly interesting. We look around and notice people are falling asleep. Hence, after collecting this data, we reason that the speaker is boring. And we are in a boring situation. Thus, it is justifiable to feel bored. So we feel bored.
Usually, something completely different happens. Our subconscious mind decides (without reason) that our present situation is boring. We look around to find evidence to support our hypothesis.
We notice that, while many people look interested, some people are falling asleep. While parts of the speech are original and imaginative, other parts we already know. While the speaker has some speaking skills, he is no Martin Luther King.
Hence, we find plenty of evidence to support our “boredom” hypothesis. After analysing all this data, our conscious minds reason that we “should be bored”.
We think that external observations cause our internal conclusion. In fact, our internal conclusion causes our external observations. What seems “rational” is post-rationalization. Hence, our present situation does not cause our boredom. Our boredom causes our boring present situation.
Paradox 2: Thinking about the “not interesting”-ness
Thought is a survival tool. When we are in life-threatening situations (like seeing something that looks like a snake), we think ourselves to safety.
But most of the time, thinking is useless noise. Like many birds have a natural pecking reflex, humans have a natural thinking reflex. We love to think about anything and everything. Usually coming to ridiculous conclusions.
Too often roles reverse. And we become a tool of our thought. As opposed to thought being a survival tool for us, we become a survival tool for thought.
Everything we think is food for thought. We think our actual boredom causes our thinking about boredom. In reality, our thinking causes our boredom.
Paradox 3: A future situation that is more interesting
Often boredom is a function of some future event. If you have an interesting event planned for the evening, the whole day feels dull, and you can’t wait for time to pass.
But here too something like Paradox 1 is at play. If you decide Event A is more interesting than Event B, it is trivial to find evidence to justify your decision. When dealing with complex entities (like events, or conference speakers), anything can be shown to be better or worse than anything else.
Hence, again we might think that our present situation is less interesting than a future situation and that we are justified in feeling bored. The reality is that our boredom is causing us to see the future as more interesting than the present.
The Solution
Cure 1: Reverse Post-Rationalisation
“A present situation that is not interesting” and “A future situation that is more interesting” are both post-rationalizations that follow a decision that we are already bored. Hence, concluding that “we are not bored” will result in the opposite post-rationalizations.
For example, consider our conference speaker.
We notice that, while some people are falling asleep, many people look interested. While we already know parts of the speech, other parts are novel and imaginative. While the speaker is no Martin Luther King, he has some speaking skills.
Hence, we conclude that the speech is interesting.
Cure 2: Beyond Thinking
The problem with Cure 1 is that it is still post-rationalization. We exchange one illusion for another. The bigger villain is thinking itself. The slave that has enslaved its master.
They say, “One is never bored when one is drunk”. And this is very true. Alcohol is one of the most potent cures for boredom, because it deadens the frontal cortex, stifling thought. This is why “dry” parties bore alcoholics. It is not that “sweet” parties involve a lot of interesting goings on. It is that they don’t involve thinking.
Sleep is another easy way “not to think”. Thus, it is natural to feel drowsy and fall asleep when we are bored.
But there is an even better cure for thinking (and, hence, boredom): meditation. All forms of meditation begin with “being” without “thinking”. Some even transcend “being”. It is a way of experiencing reality without “thinking” whether it is interesting or not. Hence, it is a form of being interested, that is beyond thinking interested or not thinking interested.
A straightforward way to bring the slave (thinking) in line, is to observe it. If we watch out for the thought “I am bored”, we should observe that “I am thinking, ‘I am bored’”. The moment the slave is in the light, it gives up any pretence or aspiration of being the master.
Are you thinking, “I am bored”?
