Boredom

Nothing's more boring than boredom.

Boredom isn't just a lack of interest; it's a vacuum actively sucking all interestingness from the landscape. Put me in a poorly-lit empty room with curious, alert people, and great things might arise. Put me in an expansive, comfortable room filled with fascinating objects and games along with bored people, and the experience will be dreadful.

Boredom stems from certainty. Bored people are certain nothing interesting might arise. Having scanned their surroundings like chess masters, mentally anticipating all outcomes, they've found them all 100% dreary, and shut down all receptivity to surprise, creating a vicious circle.

The perspective not only precedes the circumstance, it actually causes circumstance. Bored outlooks ensure boring experiences (it's one of the countless ways in which we ballast our happiness). So nothing great can happen around bored people. Their foregone conclusions block anything delightful from registering - and, certainly, from emerging. As imperiously dissatisfied consumers, it would never occur to bored people to be the element actively dispelling dreariness. They're too occupied with passively thwarting anyone else from doing so.

See also this. Plus this follow-up.


I generally only enjoy the company of people under 12 and over 90. People in between tend to be bored - and therefore boring. Their certainty is a buzzkill - the sole force in the universe opposing creativity (by blandly absorbing it). It's like kryptonite.