Literally thought of this post because even I thought my last few of these were boring...
So, rationally, let's go back to asking irrational questions that I really shouldn't be the one answering. Still want to keep reading?
Why do people get bored? Do animals get bored? I cannot even imagine how boring a cow's life is.
"Moo, moo moo mooooooo".
Translation: "Hi, I'm a cow, I eat grass and sleep".
Yes, I obviously speak cow.
Why do humans have such a short attention span? Where does it come from? And how does attention span affect other animals?
Again, I literally have no idea of real, hard evidence answers. And I probably should do some research on the topic, but if you want real science [incoming self promotional plug] check out my other blog that I rarely post to... well I don't even remember the title anymore... ignore me.
Here's a riddle.
What do you pay but receive nothing in return?
Attention. The... what is attention? We'll call it a 'thing'.
Attention is the thing that could make or break you in a certain job, class, meeting, interview etc..
It is the idea of giving all of your focus to one thing at a specific time. But our brains are complex and often want to jump to focusing on something else, usually of much less importance. For example, I was feeling fidgety today in controls class and went to buy a fidget toy online during class (yeah, they're real things!). AND I DID! I completely missed 15 minutes of the lecture, but bright side is I have a new toy to fidget around with. Well, it's coming from china so... I'll have a new toy to fidget around with.. in 10 to 16 days. Yaay me.
The point is, I lost all focus on where my focus should have been. Does this mean I have a short attention span?
I don't think it is quite that simple.
When I need to focus on something, I can usually do so without too many issues. However, usually whatever is getting my focus is constantly stimulating my brain. I cannot say that is the same for, say, an introductory lecture on control theory (if you want one of those, check out my last, totally not boring post on the subject).
So what does this mean? Maybe attention is directly linked to how we are currently using our brain. Maybe it is impossible to devote all of our attention to one thing at a time, if we know that one thing isn't commanding all of our attention. Hmm, that's confusing. But let's put it more simply.
By sitting down and studying 4 hours straight for an exam, practicing problems and applying knowledge for the entirety of the study session, it is far easier to stay attentive to studying (speaking for myself at least). I know the session is important and can easily apply all of my focus to it.
However, sitting in a boring lecture, or in a dragged out work meeting about the status of your team where each person spends 10 minutes discussing why they are still where they were yesterday, not only seems like a waste of time, but is. I think the brain subconsciously assumes that and begins to look for alternatives to devote focus.
So this may have seemed obvious, but maybe attention is dependent on you, and what you inherently know is useful or not. Of course, there are many other factors such as the instant gratification you get when you receive a text message or a like on a photo that will sway your attention. But that is outside the scope of this, might I say, well thought out post... Did I take it too far? Yup, definitely too far...
So getting back to how this all relates to boredom. I cannot think of a time where I was actively and fully focused on and attentive to a task, but felt bored.
Maybe cows are so interested and determined to eat grass that they don't get bored doing so for what seems like a lifetime.
Or maybe, they're just always hungry.
Thanks for reading,
J
So, rationally, let's go back to asking irrational questions that I really shouldn't be the one answering. Still want to keep reading?
Why do people get bored? Do animals get bored? I cannot even imagine how boring a cow's life is.
"Moo, moo moo mooooooo".
Translation: "Hi, I'm a cow, I eat grass and sleep".
Yes, I obviously speak cow.
Why do humans have such a short attention span? Where does it come from? And how does attention span affect other animals?
Again, I literally have no idea of real, hard evidence answers. And I probably should do some research on the topic, but if you want real science [incoming self promotional plug] check out my other blog that I rarely post to... well I don't even remember the title anymore... ignore me.
Here's a riddle.
What do you pay but receive nothing in return?
Attention. The... what is attention? We'll call it a 'thing'.
Attention is the thing that could make or break you in a certain job, class, meeting, interview etc..
It is the idea of giving all of your focus to one thing at a specific time. But our brains are complex and often want to jump to focusing on something else, usually of much less importance. For example, I was feeling fidgety today in controls class and went to buy a fidget toy online during class (yeah, they're real things!). AND I DID! I completely missed 15 minutes of the lecture, but bright side is I have a new toy to fidget around with. Well, it's coming from china so... I'll have a new toy to fidget around with.. in 10 to 16 days. Yaay me.
The point is, I lost all focus on where my focus should have been. Does this mean I have a short attention span?
I don't think it is quite that simple.
When I need to focus on something, I can usually do so without too many issues. However, usually whatever is getting my focus is constantly stimulating my brain. I cannot say that is the same for, say, an introductory lecture on control theory (if you want one of those, check out my last, totally not boring post on the subject).
So what does this mean? Maybe attention is directly linked to how we are currently using our brain. Maybe it is impossible to devote all of our attention to one thing at a time, if we know that one thing isn't commanding all of our attention. Hmm, that's confusing. But let's put it more simply.
By sitting down and studying 4 hours straight for an exam, practicing problems and applying knowledge for the entirety of the study session, it is far easier to stay attentive to studying (speaking for myself at least). I know the session is important and can easily apply all of my focus to it.
However, sitting in a boring lecture, or in a dragged out work meeting about the status of your team where each person spends 10 minutes discussing why they are still where they were yesterday, not only seems like a waste of time, but is. I think the brain subconsciously assumes that and begins to look for alternatives to devote focus.
So this may have seemed obvious, but maybe attention is dependent on you, and what you inherently know is useful or not. Of course, there are many other factors such as the instant gratification you get when you receive a text message or a like on a photo that will sway your attention. But that is outside the scope of this, might I say, well thought out post... Did I take it too far? Yup, definitely too far...
So getting back to how this all relates to boredom. I cannot think of a time where I was actively and fully focused on and attentive to a task, but felt bored.
Maybe cows are so interested and determined to eat grass that they don't get bored doing so for what seems like a lifetime.
Or maybe, they're just always hungry.
Thanks for reading,
J
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