Talk:Boredom

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	Continental philosophy

Relaxing Music = Boring? I'm sorry, but... since when does Smooth Jazz "induce boredom"? Sheesh! Muzeical (talk) 13:43, 31 March 2008 (UTC)Muzeical[reply]

Definition

Under the Psychology section boredom is defined (essentially) as a state of mind based on lack of interest and/or difficulty in concentrating. It also states that the state of mind is unpleasant. I suggest that these are all results of the state of mind called boredom, and not boredom itself. I think the state of mind called boredom is actually simply the perception of a lack of purpose and/or meaning. It is also fricking stupid to be bored you gay person

I propose the following: (quite contrary to collective writers named in the Philosophy section) the fundamental human condition is not boredom; that boredom exists does not prove that existence is meaningless (by the definition that boredom is only a perceived lack of purpose/meaning - it is possible for existence to have meaning and for one to simply be unaware of or temporarily forget it and therefore be bored); essential to the human condition is a basic need for significance and meaning in things, including existence of self, one's activities, the words, actions, etc. of others.

Consider these scenarios, then talk to yourself.

I sit in my apartment with a long list of items that need to be done, some of them even urgently. I may feel that there are meaningful, purposeful things that are readily available, but if I'm lazy, lethargic, or sick and therefore do not act on any of the items on my list, I may experience boredom since my actions (in this case choosing to sit and do nothing) lack meaning and purpose - I'm not accomplishing anything.

I am bored one day, and decide to watch TV. I watch lame shows for 4 hours and then turn off the TV. I am then bored again. While I was watching TV I was not engaged in anything meaningful or of purpose, but my attention was diverted from the awareness of lack of purpose. Daydreaming can provide the same function.

It is not necessarily whether I experience things of purpose and meaning, but what my perception of my situation is. If I feel that there is meaning to what I am doing, or if my mind is engaged in meeting some other basic human need, then I am not bored. As humans our minds are fundamentally active in the sense that we must think and act mentally. Even clearing one's mind is an act and is a channel for the mental drive. The mind craves various basic needs, and boredom is simply the dull ache of mental hunger.

-Jinglesthula —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jinglesthula (talk • contribs) 16:59, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Boredom vs Ennui

Other than the fact that boredom rests in an entirely different realm than ennui, to claim that very few have written about boredom is plain wrong. Sartre's thought focuses much on this topic as seen in his play Huis Clos and his "existentialist" L'etre et le neant. The terms "boredom" and "ennui" need clarification.

Not an Emotion

Since Boredom is an emotion, why does it appear in the list of emotions that appears at the bottom of the "Emotions" page? How can this be changed? --Lbeaumont 03:11, 20 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Why is boredom an emotion?

being bored is a an emotion because it is a state of mind —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kristain09 (talk • contribs) 15:14, 11 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 144.131.111.196 (talk) 09:24, 29 December 2006 (UTC).[reply]

Because boredom is a feeling, because it's a state of mind. The article even says that it's when you perceive something nullifying. Really a feeling, like happiness.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.50.123.42 (talk) 13:57, 21 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Isn't every emotion a state of mind? "I'm in Happy state.", "I'm in a Bored state." "emotion" is a complex word with a definition difficult to agree on, but for what the list's purpose is, Boredom has a place in the list.--DarshaAssant 08:58, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The unpleasant feeling that results from boredom as a state of mind is often called boredom and may be considered synonymous with it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jinglesthula (talk • contribs) 16:37, 25 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Escaping Boredom

"A common way to escape boredom is through creative thoughts or daydreaming." I inserted the word "is" to make this make a little more sense, but it still seems like an awkward sentence. Should it be changed/deleted?

I can completely understand the sentence, What's a question? 03:27, 22 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah im pretty bored, but there is a cure for boredom. Aside from smoking the "Nature" you could always go on wikipedia to waste time, im doing it now see, im bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored but not anymoregreen420jdubb

BORED

You know, there is actually an organiztion called BORED consisting of members that are bored. The group bored offers boredom relief by getting them to work with other people to help other people.

Spinozistic Definition of Boredom

Boredom is no change in the probability of your Perpetuation. It marks the theoretical transition from JOY to SORROW and vice versa. Yesselman 15:12, 24 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Who put in that picture caption "Modern children often exhibit boredom" ? Can someone substantaite that?--User:Zaorish

Ennui and Boredom are not synonomous

Ennui is not just boredom. Ennui is a malaise that's created by a sense of meaninglessness in the world; someone is said to suffer from Ennui if they question the use of any action in the world. The typical statement to connote ennui is "What's the point of it all?" You can be bored and not be suffering from ennui. Boredom by itself may mean simply not having anything to do, or being tired of the available options. Ennui suggests a larger existential crisis. Freddie deBoer 18:57, 15 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Fully agree. Boredom is to temporary depression (feeling "blue" for an hour or a day) as Ennui is to long-term/clinical depression. The two are not synonymous. I'm changing it.

Changed redirect for Ennui (to boredom) and wrote a "new" article; added etymology and explained the difference between the two. Stoa 00:37, 21 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The picture adds nothing to the article, so I've removed it. It simply looks like a sleeping girl in a photo studio. And the caption was simply bizarre - "modern" children?? Palefire 15:38, 15 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I am currently writing a paper on boredom. I agree that boredom is a very important philosophical topic especially since much of normal lives consists of periods of time marked by inactivity (where inactivity is defined as moments that we do not take distinct note of). This article does go some analysis of the concept of boredom but i believe there is a whole lot more that can be expanded upon in this article. So much of our culture in this generation and the last has resulted from the sheer lack of stimuli. You might even be able to go so far as to say that all of our life we are trying to avert boredom by finding activities, causes, hobbies etc. that allow us to consume ourselves in what otherwise be a quite mundane and primitive existence. I figure I might as well contribute at some point as well if I have the time and research opportunity.

Does this sentence make sense to anyone else?

It says "Those afflicted with temporary boredom may regard the affliction as a waste of time, but usually characterize boredom as far worse." Is it just me or does that sentence say that boredom is bad but boredom is worse?

This makes no sense to me so I deleted it. I think a lot of the stuff was nonsense or was actually not true once I deciphered it. Cazort 00:15, 31 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Longview?

The song Longview by Green Day isn't about boredom, it's about masturbation.

It's about masturbation and drug use(I think) because of boredom. ;) Tigger89 03:27, 6 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm pretty sure boredom is mentioned in the song as the cause of all this JordanZed 14:45, 17 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

its about boredom...and what you do when your bored.. =]

Billy clearly stated that its about "boredom, masturbation, and smoking dope" acording to the Wiki page of the song

Causes

I kind of like this article, but I feel that it rambles. Hence, I created the "causes" section. I think a lot of other stuff could be put into this section...made into a more coherent discussion instead of just a rambling narrative? But I don't want to be quick to butcher up everyone else's contributions...

I feel like this article is already shifting...it seems to be started as a goofy, fun article. But it's not really--boredom is a serious issue, and people have actually studied it! It's a symptom of some of the deep underlying problems in American society! Let's develop this! Cazort 14:52, 30 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

OK check that i just butchered the whole darned page. really, i think it was pretty awful. But feel free to improve it, i didn't put a great deal of effort into it...just...it was so bad!!!!! Cazort 00:17, 31 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

WTF? Why was all my material deleted from this section? It was sourced and my source was deleted as well, but I see no discussion on the talk page. I added it back with the citation. Cazort 20:01, 13 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Photograph

Is that photo really necessary? It's small, low quality and doesn't really help the article. Troubleshooter

Hmm. i think the pic. makes the article look more "professional". Oh, and because absolutely everyone knows what boredom is, I think the article shouldnt contain more than one.

Vandalism

I wonder why this page was edit protected... probably to preserve that very boring advertisement titled "Psychosis through boredom". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.162.51.51 (talk) 08:13, 26 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ennui redirect

The article on Ennui was deleted as a copyvio, so I've redirected it back here for now. If anyone feels strongly enough about the difference between the two, they can write a seperate article there. Recury 16:22, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wow..

This page is vandalized like.. 2 times a day.. amazing.. My question is: every other page on wikia gets protection for repeated vandalism..why isnt this article protected? because people are too bored to protect it? probably.

Because you would think we'd find the CURE here. *Reads wikipedia boredom* Zzzzzzzz... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.192.94.145 (talk) 02:57, 13 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"Boredom" Cures Boredom!

So, this is the most interesting article. Really! I was one of those people who searched "bored" out of sheer boredom. Both the article, and the talk page cured me of my affliction. Thanks to the editors! Now, onto that term paper... Yea, and the picture needs to be moved down a bit; it's covering some of the text. --DarshaAssant 09:09, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

{{Editprotected}} Add link under I Am Bored.com

www.effinbored.com

I've disabled the editprotected request. I don't believe that link falls within the bounds of the external links policy. Cheers. --MZMcBride 19:22, 24 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Kierkegaard on boredom

Kierkegaard wrote an interesting analysis of boredom called "Rotation of Crops" in Either/Or. He basically argues that boredom is relieved by switching from "extensive" or a broad variety of activities to "intensive" or focusing intensively on one activity.

U2

I added U2 to the "see also" section of this article, because thier music bores me. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sstteevvee (talk • contribs)

That's your personal opinion though, and it doesn't conform to Wikipedia's Neutral Point of View policy. Darksun 20:39, 18 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah. I like U2. It's okay, just not the best ever...

Ennui ≠ Boredom

Although this has been addressed twice in Boredom's discussion page, I think it bears repeating that Ennui needs its own separate article (which, for whatever, seems to be in a constant state of being dissolved and reabsorbed into the Boredom article), or at least a separate section within the Boredom article. While a formally equivalent translation may render the English "boredom" from the French "ennui", the connotations of the words—and the fact of "ennui" existing as a loanword within the English language itself—are highly distinctive. Whereas the word "boredom" is treated as synonymous to "indifference" in English, "ennui" has more complex implications of melancholy as resultant from an insatiable passion or desire, the absence of which fulfillment culminates in frustration with and disconnection from a reality which can never hope to live up to fantasy. Essential treatment of the word can be traced to Baudelaire's chef d'œuvre, Les Fleurs du mal, its thematic content, and its concurrent English translations—many translators of Baudelaire elect to leave the word "ennui" in the line, "C'est l'Ennui! L'oeil chargé d'un pleur involontaire …" from the opening "Au Lecteur" (To The Reader) untranslated. For comparative readings of parallel translations, see: http://fleursdumal.org/poem/099 Ennui ≠ Boredom! SumeragiNoOnmyouji 22:55, 18 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That section on psychology is off base with the rest of the article. In the first part, boredom is being confused with distraction, inattentiveness, and annoyance, typical evidence of a scientific attitude that seeks to level the diversity of concepts. Why have such a word and take it so seriously if it merely means failure to focus attention? If you want to write about distraction and attention, why do it in an article on boredom? I think I can fail to focus attention, and not be bored at all. I can be unable to accomplish the task, annoyed, frustrated, my mind wandering to other things, even incoherently, and yet still that does not make me bored. Although "ennui" is related to the word "annoy" they don't mean the same thing. Boredom is more closely related to waiting. As it stands, in any case, the article is incoherent because it has internal disagreement. I am sorry, I don't mean to be rude and attacking, but the other material was there before the inconsistent material was introduced. Cdg1072 22:53, 16 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I agree that boredom is not the same as ennui, even though some misguided soul redirected ennui to boredem. By the way, there is a separate article on Mind-wandering. --Mattisse 14:52, 28 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Remove advertising "Psychosis Through Boredom" section

This is just advertising for someones indie film and should be removed. 80.0.127.94 18:31, 27 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cleanup

I did a bit of a cleanup, and the popular culture back from a really old edit. Hope no-one minds!Ticklemygrits 13:44, 28 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The more junk that is taken out of the article the better, from my point of view. --Mattisse 14:45, 28 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

pop culture

There is a long list of pop culture references, should most of these be removed? Though maybe they make the article less boring lol.:)Merkinsmum 13:30, 4 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Semiprotect

I semiprotected the page; it is a hot target for vandalism. If you want to unprotect it, discuss here. Personally, I would like to discuss semiprotecting the talk page as well: it is also a target for vandalism, or at least, spam. Cazort (talk) 21:33, 21 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Scientific American Mind Reference

May consider adding as a reference. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=bored--find-something-to-live-for —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.151.114.182 (talk) 03:04, 4 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Jazz music?

Saying 'jazz music has a tendency to induce boredom' seems like nothing more than a poorly veiled attack on the genre. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lpoolboy (talk • contribs) 00:19, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]