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    In Praise of Wasting Time
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    In Praise of Wasting Time
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    In Praise of Wasting Time
    Ebook115 pages1 hour

    In Praise of Wasting Time

    By Alan Lightman

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    About this ebook

    Bestselling author and MIT Professor, Alan Lightman, reveals the benefits of wasting time and allowing our minds to freely roam.  

    We have apps, smart watches and calendars that constantly remind us to be productive and stop wasting time. We have created a frenzied lifestyle in which time is money, with not a minute to be wasted, and the twenty-four hours of each day are carved up, dissected, and reduced down to small units of efficiency.  

    Professor Alan Lightman documents the rush and heave of the modern world, and examines the many values of ‘wasting time’ – for replenishing the mind, for creative thought, for finding and solidifying the inner self and letting the mind lie fallow without attempting to accomplish anything and without any assigned tasks.

    Carl Jung did his most creative thinking and writing when he took time off from his frenzied practice in Zurich to go to his country house. Gustav Mahler routinely took three or four-hour walks after lunch, stopping to jot down ideas in his notebook. Albert Einstein described letting his mind ‘roam’ to make connections between concepts that were previously unconnected.

    In this timely and essential book, Professor Alan Lightman investigates the creativity born from allowing our minds to freely roam. In Praise of Wasting Time teaches us all that sometimes, the best thing to do is to do nothing at all.  
     
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster UK
    Release dateMay 15, 2018
    ISBN9781471168604
    Author

    Alan Lightman

    Alan Lightman is a physicist, novelist, and essayist. He was educated at Princeton University and at the California Institute of Technology, where he received a PhD in theoretical physics. Lightman is the author of five novels, including the international bestseller Einstein’s Dreams, two collections of essays, a book-­length narrative poem, and several books on science. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Granta, The New Yorker, and The New York Review of Books, among other publications. 

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    • 5/5
      A very timely book in today's busy, busy world. Remember when we were children, and could lie on our backs and just look at the clouds? And just let our minds wander? Some would call it "wasting time". What happened to those times? Today we are constantly rushing from one task to another. Always 'plugged in" to some electronic device, checking them over and over again to make sure we don't miss something. Even on our vacations! And what is the result of all this busy searching? Are we ever really satisfied? News flash....you will never get to the end of the internet, never are going to be "up" on everything. And that's okay, the world will not end if we don't be the first to find out the latest Kardashian news, or what Sue said about John on Facebook, or to see the latest bunny ears photo enhancement of Kay on SnapChat!And that's what this book is about. Taking a step back from our time-driven lives and just "wasting time" for a bit. I like this line, "break free from the idea that we must not waste a single second, and discover how sometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing at all."Did you know that Albert Einstein described his thinking process as letting his mind roam over many possibilities and making connections between concepts that were previously unconnected! I wonder how he could do that today, and still check his phone every ten minutes? That Hindu's discovered over 2500 years ago that the mind needs periods of calm, and to rest. A passage from a Buddhist monk reads "when a monk has gone into an empty place, and has calmed his mind, he experiences a delight that transcends that of men". Lightman explains how you need quiet time and stillness to find your inner self, that part of you that imagines, that dreams, that explores, and that is constantly questioning who you are and what is important to you. He explains that it really comes down to the big questions in life: how should you live in the world, and why should you live that way? For him, and for many of us, there are certain things we all want in life. 1) the pure joy of helping others, without expecting anything in return. 2) the belief in certain values that require action. 3) the desire to have an impact in the world, to make a difference. And 4) the desire to promote one's self or achieve personal gain, regardless of whether there is any positive impact on the world. And how can you determine how to do these things, if you are always rushing around, and not "wasting" time to listen to yourself? Lest you think that this is all well and good, but you don't have time for it, Lightman lists what happens to people who don't slow down. Think about your own children, how they don't seem as happy as you used to be when you were their age. The rate of teenagers reporting at least one major depressive episode in the past year has almost doubled from 2010 to 2015. Experts say the main reason is the "massive and pervasive presence of the digital grid, with little opportunity or desire to disconnect". A Pew survey shows that the average American teenager today sends or receives more than 110 text messages a day! And that the source of the increased depression and anxiety is their "terror of aloneness'. their FOMO (fear of missing out). I think Lightman is really onto something here. And that we owe it to ourselves to take a step back from all the noise and distractions to just tune out for a bit and waste some time.
    • 5/5
      In Praise of Wasting Time