Africa-Press – Rwanda. From the 19th to the 20th century newspaper obsession to our current doomscrolling craze, it is hard to overlook the idea that the desire for instant gratification is anything but a recent phenomenon. I find a truly imperative question for this generation to be: ‘When was the last time you were bored without reaching for your phone or computer?’ A time where your brain was not engrossed, but instead, in what I would like to call a ‘creatide’—a combination of the word creativity and reside—to describe the brain in its most natural and productive form, perhaps the frame it was destined to inhabit.
The human mind is truly one capable of remarkable things, so much so that some evidence indicates that to some, even being alone with it poses a threat. Thomas D. Wilson’s study, ‘The challenges of the disengaged mind’, brings into perspective the human urge to be constantly stimulated, almost as if it cannot be lived without. Eighteen male participants were given the choice to administer mild electric shocks to themselves rather than sit alone with their thoughts.
Remarkably, 12 chose to shock themselves with one participant delivering 190 shocks to himself during one session, suggesting that for him, any stimulation, regardless of unpleasantness, was preferable to boredom or unstructured thinking. As you meditate on this study, ask yourself, ‘What makes boredom so unbearable to the human mind?’ Psychologists and philosophers have struggled with this question for quite some time as well. Considering that not everyone is the same, some people are sensation-seekers who welcome stimulation and novelty, while others are boredom-prone and find low stimulation intolerable.
To begin with, let’s dive into the initial meaning of ‘boredom’. Boredom happens when we want to be engaged but aren’t. Eastwood, Frischen, Fenske, and Smilek called it a mismatch between our need for stimulation and what the environment is offering in their 2012 paper, ‘The unengaged mind: Defining boredom in terms of attention’. Defining it as “the aversive state of wanting but being unable to engage in satisfying activity”.
Boredom, I would say, is like a playground that you have the luxury of being in all by yourself but have the undeniable urge to do anything else but play. The mind is like a playground waiting to be explored and played in, only that the child it was made for, in this case, us, would rather be on anything else – that being gadgets or any other stimulating activity.
Just as the act of playing can have numerous benefits on a child, so can thinking and exploring the mind on our lives in the long run. I have always believed, the more you do something, the better you get. So, perhaps the reason people believe genius to be ‘inborn’ is that they forget how much practice and persistence can train the mind.
The state of boredom has an overall infamous reputation, not because everyone has experienced it, but because those who have did not dwell in it long enough for them to reap its benefits. A brilliant study by Mann and Cadman in 2014 found that participants who were engaged in the boring task of copying numbers in a phone book later generated more creative ideas in alternative tasks than those who were engaged in stimulating activities.
That state where your mind is not engrossed allows it to wander and go places it’s never been, thoughts it’s never thought, and conclusions it’s never reached. How could you possibly tell whether a child is artistically gifted if you have never handed them the paintbrush? A similar question in our context could be ‘How do you ever expect to realise your mind’s potential if you have never given it the chance to prove itself?’
Before considering yourself incapable of genius, ask yourself whether you have ever permitted your mind to prove that to you. An unbelievable example of this situation would be the well-known Albert Einstein. In his early years, Einstein worked as a patent clerk in Bern and often had long, monotonous work. During these periods, he daydreamed about thought experiments, for example, what it would be like to ride alongside a beam of light, which eventually led to his theory of relativity.
Biographers and historians have emphasised that this space for mind-wandering and boredom was not wasted time but a fertile ground for all his most famous theories and findings. Who knew one of the most brilliant scientific minds of all time was not born but nurtured? Nurtured in exactly what environment, you may ask; an unstimulated, weightless, and detached environment.
Many, over generations and generations, have thought of boredom as a prison or cage, because they are left in the one place they don’t want to be in alone. Ever notice how you can be perfectly fine scrolling through your phone, reading a book, or doing something else on your own, but the moment those things are taken away, suddenly being alone feels uncomfortable? It’s not because you’re “too extroverted” or because you “just don’t like being alone.”
Even people who enjoy solitude run into this. The real issue is that your brain is a second companion, constantly craving stimulation. Take away the input, and you’re left face-to-face with its restless need for something to do.
Perhaps your thoughts are already forming the question, “So how do I get out of this cycle of constant stimulation? Stimulation is only a natural human urge, not a hole too deep you can’t climb out of. If boredom is now this hidden gift, how can we embrace it rather than avoid it? Rest assured, it really doesn’t mean sitting and staring at the wall for hours; no one said boredom must feel like you have been sentenced to solitary confinement.
It can be as simple as taking a walk without music, leaving your phone behind while you wait in line, or spending a few minutes just staring out the window and noticing the details you normally ignore. Even small device-free pauses while doing chores, doodling in a notebook, or letting your thoughts drift can open unexpected doors in your mind. These are the quiet gaps where imagination has space to breathe and perhaps make itself more known to you.
In a world that constantly pushes us to be faster, busier, and endlessly entertained, boredom may feel like an inconvenience we should avoid. But when we step back, we see it is anything but wasted time. Boredom offers the mind space to wander, to connect ideas, and to uncover sparks of creativity we might never find in constant stimulation. Choosing to embrace it, even in small, simple moments, reminds us that our minds are capable of much more than scrolling or distraction. If we allow ourselves the courage to sit with stillness, we will realise that boredom is not a weakness to escape, but a much lesser-known strength to enkindle.
The writer is a law student at Middlesex University, Mauritius.
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