The emotion known as boredom (to me) is a 20th century creation
I'm definitely interested to know the etymology of this term boredom. I'm under the impression that in philosophical terms, ennui in various forms, ranging from listlessness to a 'Kirkegaardian' angst has been around but its place in the context of a globalised, capitalist 20th (and therefore 21st) century world is unique and very significant.
That is to say that the ways and circumstances in which one can be bored now are unparalleled in history- fuelled by too much choice and a lack of teaching as to what to do with it.
People are so used to having instant satisfication we don't feel the need to work for it so hard..Being bored is simply not being entertained or being lazy.
20th century creation is not boredom, it is the impression of gaining profit while taking one out of the state of boredom.
I didn't understand this, could you rephrase?
Also, if that's not boredom, then what is boredom?
That one can't really define boredom meaningfully seems to me to come back to the point about having too much to process. Graham's statement implies "you can't be bored because there's so much to do"- hence I'm almost never bored...
One example people haven't thought of (because you're all young and don't seem to spend hours doing homework) is just that: work. When I was doing research in the lab I would spend up to 12 hours doing the same task over and over again because I simply had to make the deadline. Man was I bored.
Well, you're missing two important points - the definition of boredom has changed throughout the years, not just that, but every single person might have a different definition. For example, 300 years ago, the things people enjoyed back then are probably considered very boring today.
Your mental state can also affect what bores you, if you are stressed, just sitting around doing nothing is fun, but if you are hyper, you'd probably rather run 20 miles than sit and do nothing.
To be honest, every action is boring if you do it for long enough, except browsing AG...
Skyla, comparing the history of the change of activity we see as boring is irreverent to the definition of boredom.
Actually, I have to go with Skyla on that one. Boredom in definition (mentally) has changed over the years. When the automobile came out, it was incredible fun just to ride one at 10 miles per hour. Today, going 60 is just bleh.
