Sunday, March 29, 2015

Boredom is the father of invention?

There is a proverb that necessity is the mother of invention. With acute need, you may create an innovative idea to solve the problem in front of you. On the other hand, who is the father of invention? There is a hypothesis: boredom.


Dr Sandi Mann at University of Central Lancashire made an experiment of creating ideas with students to. One group was forced to copy telephone numbers before the examination. Those who had faced boring task performed superior achievement.

Boredom makes people more creative, claim psychologists

In this original article, another experiment was mentioned. I have not read the full text. According to the abstract, reading task was proven to be more stimulating creativity than writing in the experiment.

Creativity Research Journal: Does Being Bored Make Us More Creative?

To be honest, I am not sure these results are trustworthy. Boring task is not the same as boredom. Engaging in some simple task for a while can let you concentrate. One of the examples is meditation. Meditation is considered to be an effective method to become creative.
It depends on each person whether to deem the time of meditation as boredom.

On the other hand, it may be certain that too many stimuli get rid of our creativity. I am fond of playing a computer game. When being indulged in a game, whereas I concentrate, it cannot be a creative time. If I find the best move in a game, it is only adaptable in the game.

Nowadays, it is quite rare to feel nothing to do. Most people are hasted to do something necessary. It is another engine of development and invention. However, sitting down on a floor without anything to read or write for a while perhaps let you rich in mind. The reason great philosophy was born in Ancient Greece is considered to be boredom.

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