3 ms·

Mundane emotions: Losing yourself in boredom, time and technology (2022)

165 points by yamrzou 3y ago

tedd4u 3y ago
“The primary source of data was interviews conducted with 15 people…”
- rNULLED 3y ago
  I think there’s value in talking extensively to 15 people and writing a paper reflecting on their different human experiences. The paper even handily posits a hypothesis on the role of boredom in everyone’s life.
  - didgetmaster 3y ago
    I too think there can be more value in an in-depth study of a relatively small number of people over another study on the same subject that asks a few thousand people to respond to just a few superficial questions.
- nvader 3y ago
  Thank you for posting this. I was daunted by the jargon in the abstract, and came here to see if it was going to be worth my time.
  - zoover2020 3y ago
    I think the abstract is pretty clear about the semistructured interviews though? I didn't feel lied to as a reader at least.
- graphe 3y ago
  If you can read a blog post by 1 person on this subject seriously, you can read a summary of an interview of 15 people. I downloaded the epub. This line sold me to read it. >In this article, we coin the term ‘mundane emotions’ to draw attention to everyday routines and the distinctive emotions that flow from them (De Certeau 1988; Lefebvre 2004). For example, commuting, cleaning or cooking routines, for some, may provide precious moments of comfort and calm after the daily grind. These very same routines may leave others feeling empty and bemoaning the absence of spontaneity, excitement and joy in their lives
  - Lamad1234 3y ago
    Using public laundry... It's a very long time ago but I remember that atmosphere, sometimes I talked to other people there or read magazines they had lying around or took my own book to read!!
  - marssaxman 3y ago
    > For example, commuting, cleaning or cooking routines, for some, may provide precious moments of comfort and calm What a remarkable idea! I cannot imagine what that experience would be like, though seeing it called out that way makes me realize I must have always been encountering people with such inclinations, and simply failing to understand their choices.
- pizza 3y ago
  You find that to be a boring number of interviewees?
abart13 3y ago
This article really resonated with me both in regard to the mundane and profound boredom aspects. For the mundane, obsessively refreshing hacker news is my doom scrolling (with the justification that I occasionally find content like this). While the profound boredom experienced during the start of Covid made me realise I wasn’t living up to what I thought were my values. I then started volunteering with the local emergency service which has been one of the best life decisions I’ve made.
- julianeon 3y ago
  I’d say that if you’re constantly refreshing Hacker News, you’re a good candidate for ebooks on HN-like subjects. I made a conscious decision to switch to that from HN and Reddit, and I’d say I’ve cut my usage of both by about 75%. Which was a good outcome for me, because it switched me from learning many topics shallowly, to learning a few from ebooks deeply (example, Soni’s The Founders book on PayPal’s history).
  - creakingstairs 3y ago
    How do you find good ebooks? I’ve found some good ones via HN, but it would be nice if there is more dedicated place for ebooks.
    - orzig 3y ago
      I strongly recommend building a little instinct in yourself for "what if HN search could help with this question" - for books especially: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21900498 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21900498 And someone took it upon themselves to build a book specific version across all discussions: https://hackernewsbooks.com/top-books-on-hacker-news https://hackernewsbooks.com/top-books-on-hacker-news I check that fairly frequently!
      - creakingstairs 3y ago
        Those are great resources to start with. Thank you!
zubairq 3y ago
I wanted to stop doom scrolling hacker news but the article was too long to read ;)
closetkantian 3y ago
I think it would be great to have an ebook interface that shuffled the content in a way that mimicked some aspects of HN, Reddit, and maybe even Tinder.
ogurechny 3y ago
The authors were digging in the correct place to find gold. However, limiting the discussion to “exceptional” (not really) lockdowns-as-a-hot-topic-in-media, and turning to lifeless non-conclusions like “opportunities for self-actualization” and “discovery of passions” were their ways of scuttling. A good book tying “well-being” to cultural perception of time itself is “Time and the Dog: Society and Depression” by Maria Rita Kehl. Unfortunately, its English translation, announced in 2018, never materialized for some reason, and now, it seems, Verso Books has removed the book from the website. Well, if you're bored, you can always learn Portuguese or Russian to read it.

165 points by yamrzou 3y ago

tedd4u 3y ago

“The primary source of data was interviews conducted with 15 people…”

rNULLED 3y ago
I think there’s value in talking extensively to 15 people and writing a paper reflecting on their different human experiences. The paper even handily posits a hypothesis on the role of boredom in everyone’s life.
- didgetmaster 3y ago
  I too think there can be more value in an in-depth study of a relatively small number of people over another study on the same subject that asks a few thousand people to respond to just a few superficial questions.
nvader 3y ago
Thank you for posting this. I was daunted by the jargon in the abstract, and came here to see if it was going to be worth my time.
- zoover2020 3y ago
  I think the abstract is pretty clear about the semistructured interviews though? I didn't feel lied to as a reader at least.
graphe 3y ago
If you can read a blog post by 1 person on this subject seriously, you can read a summary of an interview of 15 people. I downloaded the epub. This line sold me to read it. >In this article, we coin the term ‘mundane emotions’ to draw attention to everyday routines and the distinctive emotions that flow from them (De Certeau 1988; Lefebvre 2004). For example, commuting, cleaning or cooking routines, for some, may provide precious moments of comfort and calm after the daily grind. These very same routines may leave others feeling empty and bemoaning the absence of spontaneity, excitement and joy in their lives
- Lamad1234 3y ago
  Using public laundry... It's a very long time ago but I remember that atmosphere, sometimes I talked to other people there or read magazines they had lying around or took my own book to read!!
- marssaxman 3y ago
  > For example, commuting, cleaning or cooking routines, for some, may provide precious moments of comfort and calm What a remarkable idea! I cannot imagine what that experience would be like, though seeing it called out that way makes me realize I must have always been encountering people with such inclinations, and simply failing to understand their choices.
pizza 3y ago
You find that to be a boring number of interviewees?

abart13 3y ago

This article really resonated with me both in regard to the mundane and profound boredom aspects. For the mundane, obsessively refreshing hacker news is my doom scrolling (with the justification that I occasionally find content like this). While the profound boredom experienced during the start of Covid made me realise I wasn’t living up to what I thought were my values. I then started volunteering with the local emergency service which has been one of the best life decisions I’ve made.

julianeon 3y ago
I’d say that if you’re constantly refreshing Hacker News, you’re a good candidate for ebooks on HN-like subjects. I made a conscious decision to switch to that from HN and Reddit, and I’d say I’ve cut my usage of both by about 75%. Which was a good outcome for me, because it switched me from learning many topics shallowly, to learning a few from ebooks deeply (example, Soni’s The Founders book on PayPal’s history).
- creakingstairs 3y ago
  How do you find good ebooks? I’ve found some good ones via HN, but it would be nice if there is more dedicated place for ebooks.
  - orzig 3y ago
    I strongly recommend building a little instinct in yourself for "what if HN search could help with this question" - for books especially: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21900498 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21900498 And someone took it upon themselves to build a book specific version across all discussions: https://hackernewsbooks.com/top-books-on-hacker-news https://hackernewsbooks.com/top-books-on-hacker-news I check that fairly frequently!
    - creakingstairs 3y ago
      Those are great resources to start with. Thank you!

zubairq 3y ago

I wanted to stop doom scrolling hacker news but the article was too long to read ;)

closetkantian 3y ago

I think it would be great to have an ebook interface that shuffled the content in a way that mimicked some aspects of HN, Reddit, and maybe even Tinder.

ogurechny 3y ago

The authors were digging in the correct place to find gold. However, limiting the discussion to “exceptional” (not really) lockdowns-as-a-hot-topic-in-media, and turning to lifeless non-conclusions like “opportunities for self-actualization” and “discovery of passions” were their ways of scuttling. A good book tying “well-being” to cultural perception of time itself is “Time and the Dog: Society and Depression” by Maria Rita Kehl. Unfortunately, its English translation, announced in 2018, never materialized for some reason, and now, it seems, Verso Books has removed the book from the website. Well, if you're bored, you can always learn Portuguese or Russian to read it.