The Perception Lecture ‘The Science of Boredom’ by Caroline Williams (Feature Editor for the New Scientist, TEDx speaker and author of ‘Override’) was held on Thursday 28 September. Review by Cosima Graef, Adelina Dan and Cyprien Roche (Year 13):
Boredom is experienced when one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one's current activity. It is essential as it allows time for reflection and creativity.
On average, each individual in the UK is bored for 6 hours a day. This translates to 13 days a year or a whole 786.5 days within a lifetime. Whilst you might think it a problem and a great waste of resources, being bored is an important aspect of life and an absolute necessity to us. Letting your mind wander gives rise to creativity and imagination.
We had the pleasure to welcome Dr Caroline Williams to the Perception Society for our second lecture this academic year. Discussing brain training techniques and her quest to 'take control of her mind' in her book 'Override'. Dr Williams has also been a presenter, producer and reporter for radio programmes on the BBC.
Dr Williams first introduced pupils to the different types of boredom, revealing to us that everyone experiences boredom differently. By categorising boredom into a spectrum of 5 categories, from a positive state where boredom is a pleasant experience, to apathetic where boredom becomes a negative state of mind. In explaining these different boredom 'personalities', each pupil was able to identify which category they belonged to.
But what should you do when boredom takes over? Use it! Mind wandering might not be as bad as your teachers might suggest it is, it can be incredibly productive in helping you come up with a new angle in your work. Of course that doesn't mean that all mind wandering is beneficial, as Dr Williams explained, there needs to be some flexibility between the mind wandering and focus to gain the most from each.
"The cure for boredom is curiosity, and there is no cure for curiosity."
In her quest for answers about boredom, Dr Williams visited The University of Kansas, Department of Psychology. Here she participated in a psychology experiment where different areas of her brain were activated by zapping her head with the TDCS machine; which increase focus using electric currents. Sometimes, 'thinking outside the box' can be taken a little too literally! Approaching boredom and accepting it naturally is a far better approach.
Dr Williams gave a truly fascinating lecture, which helped answer many questions about a topic so commonly experienced in our everyday lives. Our work at Perception has a focus on academic enrichment and extension of learning and on this occasion, the event was twinned with a book signing opportunity, where pupils could purchase a signed copy of ‘Override’.