Who hasn’t seen viral pictures of
passengers waiting for a train, all
heads down, engrossed in their
phones rather than in the present
moment? The Bored and Brilliant
project wasn’t necessarily about
that, although aspects were. It was
about what that constant preoccupation was displacing: time to
daydream, to chew on concepts
and ideas, and to have that blank
mental space in which to do it.
“For me, it wasn’t so much having
difficulty being bored,” Zomorodi
said. “I just never had to be bored
because I was always looking at
my phone. It made me wonder...
was that a bad thing in any way?”
With that question now firmly in
place, Zomorodi set out to first
find out what goes on when the
brain has nothing going on. “It
turns out there’s a ‘default mode,’
a network in the brain that activates when our bodies are idle.
The brain goes into a very active
state where it does something
called ‘autobiographical planning.’” This state moderates the
planning of goals; retroactive contemplation to make sense of past
actions and experiences, assigning meaning to them; and making decisions on how to proceed.
Suzanne’s Pet Sitting
Going on tour? Crazy schedule?
Suzanne can take care of your pets
while you’re away. Low rates, available
on short notice, references, experienced
with many species of animal.
(908) 692-2257
New Jersey Stage
Article Index
Next Article
Events
30