Quote 1: “Boredom, however,
includes as a component the "need for intense mental activity," a
need that in the bored person cannot find gratification by generating its own
impulse but seeks "incitements" from the outside world as a means of
decreasing tension"
(Spacks 4).
Quote 2:
“The Idler, who habituates himself to be satisfied with
what he can most easily obtain, not only escapes labours which are often
fruitless, but sometimes succeeds better than those who despise all that is
within their reach, and think every thing more valuable as it is harder to be
acquired”(Idler 1).
Prior to reading Spacks’ first chapter in Boredom and the excerpt from Johnson’s Idler I assumed that being bored and
being idle were similar and rooted within one another: being idle—not doing
anything—causing one to be bored. When looking at how the readings for this
week framed boredom and idleness, clear differences between the two can be
seen. After reading both quotes I got the sense that if someone is idle they
are genuinely, perfectly content with their lack of mental stimulation whereas
if someone is bored they are longing to be engaged. Also I gathered that
idleness is a mental state that is internalized for want of being idle while
boredom occurs externally from lack of stimulation from the outside world.
In the first quote on boredom, Spacks states
that that boredom requires “intense mental activity” calling it “a need” that
must be fulfilled to “decrease tension.” From the urgency of language used, you
can feel the sense the intense wanting one who is bored has to regain cognitive
activity: it is necessary for said person to become externally engaged in order
to maintain a feeling of internal wellbeing. In the second quote Johnson uses
words such as “habituates” and “satisfied” to show how being idle is a mental
state that the Idler has become accustomed to and has internalized as a guide
for subsequent actions (or inaction) that will provide contentment. I found it
interesting that Johnson describes the Idler as someone who may actually be out
witting the intelligent by just getting by cognitively since their energy does
not have to be put forth for tasks that may prove to be menial or unimportant.
I could easily see people experiencing boredom as those who may take part in
actions they are not passionate about just in order to regain mental stimulus
and may ultimately be wasting their time with something that with repetition
could make them bored once again.
