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I think boredom has been redefined many times over human history. That's where leisure activities are borne from. There was a point in our collective history w
by mpd 7y ago
I think boredom has been redefined many times over human history. That's where leisure activities are borne from.
There was a point in our collective history when "where will my next meal come from?" is the overarching concern of every member of the species. Becoming a producer in such an environment would be nearly unthinkable, yet it's not a second thought today.
- goatlover 7y agoTribal societies had time for stories, music, dance, art and ritual. Kids still had time to play. You’d have to go pretty far back or during extreme times to find a period when our ancestors had no time foe leisure.
- mpd 7y agoCompared to what we have today? I don't think you have to go very far back at all. Even in medieval times they didn't have the free time we have now.
- darkerside 7y agoCitation needed. Cursory googling indicates hours weren't all that different. https://www.lostkingdom.net/medieval-workday-working-hours/ https://www.lostkingdom.net/medieval-workday-working-hours/
- CydeWeys 7y agoThis is a common misconception, but until the modern age most people had lots of free time. It was only after the industrial revolution that this state of affairs changed. See e.g. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/28q7l5/how_much_free_time_did_an_average_person_in_the/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/28q7l5/how_m...
- mpd 7y agoAck, that's pretty interesting
- lgeorget 7y agoIt depends mostly on the period, the availability of food etc. One anecdote: I visited the (replica of) Chauvet Cave, in France, a few months ago, in which some of the best-preserved cave paintings in the world can be seen. They were painted around 30000 years ago from now by the Aurignacian, people very similar to us modern humans, including in height. We were told that they would spent only 4 to 5 hours a day hunting or gathering the necessary raw materials to survive. The rest of the time could be dedicated to the making of splendid clothes, a large variety af daily items, art, etc. Edit: relevant wikipedia pages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauvet_Cave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauvet_Cave , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurignacian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurignacian
- solotronics 7y agoWe live way better than a king did about 500 years ago.
- SamPatt 7y agoI'd say even 200 years ago. No electricity, no antibiotics, no cars or planes or trains (maybe early ones, but not widespread). No thank you!
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