"stranded somewhere and not having anything to read". I can associate with this. Although there has been much written about the function and role of boredom in modern society. In particular, that while boredom may not be pleasant, or well understood, it is a different state of mind as opposed to active engagement and entertainment. And perhaps in the state of mind, certain thoughts may rise that need such an environment to percolate to the surface.
Re:The Dangerous Effects of Reading
by kenjackson on Thursday December 29, 2011 @02:43PM
(#3405030)
This reminds me of "Time Enough at Last".
It is a scary prospect to be left with nothing but your own mind. If you have to read on the toilet instead of just focusing on getting things done it is definitely time to realise something is wrong. Are we happier because we can be entertained constantly? I am pretty sure the answer is no, and that actually it tends to contribute to stress. I say this as someone over-stressed and always concerned about being productive.
From time to time I would just take my eyes out of the book to make sure that the cows hadn't trespassed our neighbor's property, and then I would quickly return to reading. To this day I always carry something to read with me, be it a book, a magazine or something like that.
And regarding the author's remark that his grand-grand-father would be horrified to learn in what strange circumstances we do read nowadays, I remember my peasant grand-mother scolding my grand-father for "preferring to read" instead of doing something more productive like feeding the cows. I heard a similar argument between my parents when I was little, with my father being accused of reading too much, and sure enough my (future to be ex)-wife also reproached me for reading too much.