Meaningful Returns

I firmly believe unchanneled boredom is the impetus for impulse buying and discontentment in general. I’m also of the opinion that this problem can be rather simply (if not easily) cured.

Though there are certain careers that demand otherwise, I find it terribly unfortunate that upon completing our final level of schooling we often stop seeking out new, interesting things for our brains. Sure, we learn how the software at work works, or how to get along with a co-worker (or not), or how to complete the right reports in the right amount of time. But what about new things? Things not directly linked to anything we get paid to do.

When we seek to understand something out of our wheel house, something complex and difficult, the very act of seeking not only strengthens our minds, but is actually loads of fun. And of course the act of seeking leads us away from unchanneled boredom, trains our minds to wander in creative ways, and generally makes us more happy than buying the neat shoes you saw pop up in your personalized Facebook ads.

Here’s an example. I find physics to be fascinating. But I never took a single physics class in my life. So any chance I get, I like reading about physics. Yesterday I saw this article about how some brilliant humans at the European Space Agency are somehow figuring out how to build these little space vessels that will be able to detect gravitational waves. In case you weren’t aware, here’s a hugely understated description (emphasis mine):

Detecting gravitational waves — ripples in space-time that result from objects moving through the Universe — is a very difficult process that involves measuring tiny variations in the positions of objects. Those measurements can get mucked up easily on Earth, which is a noisy place filled with lots of vibrations and movements that can throw off results. That’s why scientists want to move gravitational wave detection to space, where there are far less forces to control for. But creating the right kind of setup is still very complicated.

Oh, is it very difficult and very complicated? Because when you said “detecting gravitational waves” I wasn’t sure.

But I digress.

Here’s the thing. I don’t even come close to fully understanding what in the world those scientists are doing at the European Space Agency, and I never will. But that’s okay. Seeking the complexity, devoting a few minutes of my day to it, all the while being comfortable with a sense of unknown–this is, I think, a tremendous recipe for overcoming unchanneled boredom, and living a joyful life.