Book
In praise of wasting time / Alan Lightman ; illustrations by Dola Sun.
Summary:
In today's frenzied and wired world, we are obsessed with the idea of not "wasting time." But have we lost the silences and solitude so essential to our inner lives? A great deal of evidence suggests the value in wasting time, of letting the mind lie fallow for some periods, of letting minutes and hours go by without scheduled activities or intended tasks, of unplugging from the grid. In this investigation of the rush and heave of the modern world, Alan Lightman explores the technological and cultural origins of our time-driven lives. More importantly, he reveals the many values of "wasting time", for replenishing the mind, for creative thought, and for finding and solidifying the inner self. Lightman urges us, as both individuals and as a society, to break free of the idea that not a second is to be wasted and to discover that sometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing at all.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781501154362
- ISBN: 1501154362
- Physical Description: 102 pages : color illustrations ; 19 cm
- Edition: First TED Books hardcover edition.
- Publisher: New York : TED Books, 2018.
- Copyright: ©2018
Content descriptions
- Bibliography, etc. Note:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 95-102).
- Formatted Contents Note:
- A village in Cambodia -- The grid -- The rush and the heave -- Play -- The free-grazing mind -- Downtime and replenishment -- Chronos and kairos -- Half mind.
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Available copies
- 6 of 7 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Valemount Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 7 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valemount Public Library | anf 153.3 lig (Text) | 35194014277941 | Adult non-fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
Argues for the value of spending time unplugged from the grid, without scheduled activities or intended tasks, focusing on the benefits that purely idle time can have for creativity, mental replenishment, and exploring the inner self. - Simon and Schuster
In this timely and essential book that offers a fresh take on the qualms of modern day life, Professor Alan Lightman investigates the creativity born from allowing our minds to freely roam, without attempting to accomplish anything and without any assigned tasks.
We are all worried about wasting time. Especially in the West, we have created a frenzied lifestyle in which the twenty-Âfour hours of each day are carved up, dissected, and reduced down to ten minute units of efficiency. We take our iPhones and laptops with us on vacation. We check email at restaurants or our brokerage accounts while walking in the park. When the school day ends, our children are overloaded with âextras.â Our university curricula are so crammed our young people donât have time to reflect on the material they are supposed to be learning. Yet in the face of our time-driven existence, a great deal of evidence suggests there is great value in âwasting time,â of letting the mind lie fallow for some periods, of letting minutes and even hours go by without scheduled activities or intended tasks.
Gustav Mahler routinely took three or four-Âhour walks after lunch, stopping to jot down ideas in his notebook. Carl Jung did his most creative thinking and writing when he visited his country house. In his 1949 autobiography, Albert Einstein described how his thinking involved letting his mind roam over many possibilities and making connections between concepts that were previously unconnected. With In Praise of Wasting Time, Professor Alan Lightman documents the rush and heave of the modern world, suggests the technological and cultural origins of our time-Âdriven lives, and examines the many values of âwasting timeââfor replenishing the mind, for creative thought, and for finding and solidifying the inner self. Break free from the idea that we must not waste a single second, and discover how sometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing at all. - Simon and Schuster
In this timely and essential book that offers a fresh take on the qualms of modern day life, Professor Alan Lightman investigates the creativity born from allowing our minds to freely roam, without attempting to accomplish anything and without any assigned tasks.
We are all worried about wasting time. Especially in the West, we have created a frenzied lifestyle in which the twenty-Âfour hours of each day are carved up, dissected, and reduced down to ten minute units of efficiency. We take our iPhones and laptops with us on vacation. We check email at restaurants or our brokerage accounts while walking in the park. When the school day ends, our children are overloaded with 'extras.' Our university curricula are so crammed our young people don't have time to reflect on the material they are supposed to be learning. Yet in the face of our time-driven existence, a great deal of evidence suggests there is great value in 'wasting time," of letting the mind lie fallow for some periods, of letting minutes and even hours go by without scheduled activities or intended tasks.
Gustav Mahler routinely took three or four-Âhour walks after lunch, stopping to jot down ideas in his notebook. Carl Jung did his most creative thinking and writing when he visited his country house. In his 1949 autobiography, Albert Einstein described how his thinking involved letting his mind roam over many possibilities and making connections between concepts that were previously unconnected. With In Praise of Wasting Time, Professor Alan Lightman documents the rush and heave of the modern world, suggests the technological and cultural origins of our time-Âdriven lives, and examines the many values of 'wasting time''for replenishing the mind, for creative thought, and for finding and solidifying the inner self. Break free from the idea that we must not waste a single second, and discover how sometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing at all.