Cartoon by Scott Adams
In a recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Adams pays a tribute to tedium and questions whether today’s constant stimulation is hurting our creativity.
Boredom allows our brains to process thoughts and be creative, according to experts. I have experienced that. My experiences with thinking and creativity have been similar to Scott’s — he says his best ideas always bubble up when the outside world is not frightening, wounding, or entertaining him.
Adams point out that, if we allowed for more boredom and its byproduct — creative thinking — to return, we would likely see:
- Fewer movies that are derivative or sequels.
- Fewer best-selling books from ghostwriters in “fiction factories.”
- More innovation in industry.
- Bloggers spending less time writing about other bloggers and instead write about fresh topics.
- Less acceptance of dogmatic positions of religions and political parties.
- Better understanding of new ideas.
Click here to get to the op-ed in the WSJ. Unless you are already a subscriber, you may need to sign up; it’s worth it.
Grover Click
August 14, 2011
