Idleness

E

Esioul

The weird one
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
982
Now, I know this all sounds odd, but it would be very useful to me if some of you would answer these questions.

What do you consider to be idle?
Do you like being idle?
When you are idle what do you do (in order to make yourself idle, that is)?
How long can you be idle for without getting bored?
What sort of effect does being idle for a long time have on you?
If you are idle sometimes, why are you idle at those times?

I hope these questions don't seem too odd.
 
To me idleness is the desultory state on a Sunday morning, when my mind hasn't quite kicked in yet and there's no real reason for it to do so.


Idleness is a blessed respite from everything else, work, play leisure, the whole kit and caboodle.

It never lasts very long; within about an hour I usually start reading, or writing, or head out to meet some friends.

When I was unemployed a couple of years back, I found that extended, enforced idleness wound up reducing me to a total wreck - I needed to have work, after some time.
 
I find that extreme idleness makes me feel sort of sleepy and apathetic, and my brain stops working properly somehow- and you say that when you're idle your brain hasn't kicked in. So could real idleness be defined as a lack of thought, or the type of thought that contemplates/argues? Not thought like, 'I'm hungry I'm going to go and get some chocolate' or, 'I wonder what's on television tonight?', but more, 'Why is there any point in watching television?' sort of thing.
 
What do you consider to be idle? My definition of being idle is to not be doing anything productive. Just sitting doesn't necessarily qualify; sitting and reading is not being idle, but sitting and daydreaming is (although daydreaming can be turned into something productive; it's complicated). Watching television can be considered being idle, but isn't necessarily; sitting and channel-surfing is definitely being idle.

Do you like being idle? Sometimes.

When you are idle what do you do (in order to make yourself idle, that is)? Daydream, usually. Late at night, I channel surf when I can't sleep.

How long can you be idle for without getting bored? It depends. Sometimes I can only do it for a few minutes, but other times I can be idle for hours. I am much better at being idle when I'm feeling depressed.

What sort of effect does being idle for a long time have on you? It depends. If I'm being idle because I'm bored, I usually manage to work myself around to the idea that I'm wasting time that I could be using to do something creative. So I guess it motivates me. But if I'm being idle becuase I'm feeling blue, it usually doesn't help that feeling to go away. At those times it is probably counterproductive, but at those times I sometimes can't conceive of doing anything else.

If you are idle sometimes, why are you idle at those times? Mood and opportunity. For example, sometimes I'm feeling a bit depressed but I have things I have to do. So I have mood but not opportunity. Other times, I have the time to just sit and do absolutely nothing, but I'm in a good mood so I invent something to do.

I just realized that this whole post makes me sound like a manic-depressive. I'm not. Although I have been down a bit lately, which is why I haven't been posting as much. This long post is probably a good sign that I'm coming out of that mood a bit. I hope.
 
*Hugs* I hope you're feeling better. I was wondering where you were!

I'm interested in idleness at the moment because I have an idea for a story in my head, in which a whole society of people is very idle. However, they need to accept their idleness, so either they are happy with it, or they are so used to be idle and have never seen any way of not being idle that they aren't unhappy, or at least don't realise they're unhappy. And I've found that once I begin to get apathetic and lazy, I get worse and worse, and I sort of move and think slowly, too, and I wondered if my society of sluggards would be like this.

I was also wondering what people do to counteract idleness- as you say, some might channel it into creativity, and others might find work to do, or some kind of amusment like sport and parties. These suggest socialising with other people, though, so it could be a socitey of people who can only be amused by going to parties.....? I don't know where they get their money from.

When I'm idle I tend to sleep a lot, surf the internet and watch tv. I don't normally watch tv a lot, (apart from when it's Extreme Archaeology and Time Team!) so I need to be feeling inactive to be able to watch it.
 
Thanks, Esioul. My outlook is beginning to be a bit better. Still having to work at it, but I'm trying. It's mostly fallout from the events of May (when my aunt and uncle passed away). We're at the point where we are having to deal with their estate, with lawyers and all, and that is just plain frustrating. I think it all may be giving me an ulcer. :( When I get really frustrated, I tend to turn inward more than I probably should. There's also the ongoing lack of a job. Aarrrgh. Well, I won't go there right now. Anyway.

I do think your story idea sounds very interesting. Let us know how you are doing with it as it progresses.

I also think it is interesting that you mention surfing the internet when you are being idle. I've never really thought about it in that way, but as I think about it, I do tend to play on the 'net a lot when I'm not feeling like doing anything else. And when I'm in that sort of mode, I find myself not going to my usual places, such as the forums I frequent, but I just idly (key word, that) look around to see what I can find. To see if I can find anything that really interests me. So I guess that does fit the description, "being idle".
 
When I am really very idle I just lie down somewhere sometimes and doze, or sort of slowly read.

Do you think a book about a society of people who never do anything would be very boring? Of course, some people would have to move occaisionally and eat or there wouldn't be any people to write about ;)

I hope a nice job comes your way soon, LittleMiss. It's hard having to deal with admin things due to deaths,when it's bad enough that people have died anyway, so I hope all that admin doesn't get too much.
 
A society of idlers, eh? Well, perhaps they are an over-class in a culture that depends extensively on slave labour at all levels. Or maybe they are members of a decadent society that is immensely ancient, has lost its creative spark, has no worlds to conquer, and merely lives on the technological achievements of past generations...

Sorry, I didn't mean to second-guess what your story might be, it just got me thinking a bit.

littlemiss is right about idleness in a state of depression - I suppose the only times when I"ve really managed to be idle for sustained periods of time were when I was depressed. It seemed there was nothing to be achieved by activity, so why bother? Usually, though, I find it hard to be really idle. I soon find something to occupy myself with, even if it is just a stroll through a crowded street for a spot of people-watching.
 
Heh, no people watching to be had here, this village is half-dead, so I'm pretty much confined to the house unless I can get a lift into the station. well, I'm starting driving lessons this month so hopefully I shouldn't be stuck here for too much longer :)

Thanks for those ideas, Knivesout, I wasn't quite sure how such a society would survive. Do you think it would be possible for them to survive on a basis of technology i.e technology doing all their farming, cooking, cleaning etc without them having to do anything? Or would they need some kind of slave labour? And would it be possible for them to live without being aware that the slaves existed, if so?
 
Perhaps they are the aftermath of a highly technologically sophisticated people, with nearly everything automated. It wouldn't be a situation that lasted forever though, but it could carry on for a rather long time. Eventually, the systems would break down, but the idlers would have neither the knowledge not the initiative to fix things. And perhaps, in their ignorance, they use certain devices for pruposes other than what they were intended for.

As for slaves - people can be very good at ingoring servants, as if they were part of the furniture. But why do the slaves serve the idlers? Force of habit? Religion? Something else altogether?
 
Hmm, I like the idea of technology for one of my societies, and maybe slaves for the other, to have a contrast (I have several different societies here). If it was made impossible for the slaves to escape, then they probably wouldn't bother giving up. I could coincide a problem with the technology of one socitey with the problem of slaves getting fed up in the other nicely... hmmm... ok I'm obsessed with this now.
 
I'm hyper now. Do you think it's a naff plot at all? I don't read a lot of sci fi so I can't tell if it's cliched.
 
Now, if it were me, I'd probably explore the idea that their idleness was supported by technology, which was beginning to break down. Be interesting to explore which ones would survive this breakdown and which had been idle so long that they just passively let the breakdown happen and perish with it.

But, that's just me and my strange, twisted imagination.:)
 
Yes, that was one of the things I was thinking of exploring in it (not twisted at all, I hope), with the society based on technology. At the same time the society based on slavery is having problems, because somehow the slaves have stopped working, or have escaped maybe. I'm not sure yet which society (both of which are largely made up of idlers) will survive, if either of them will. Heh, I've spent the afternoon making four big sheets with drawings and notes on, one for each society I'm writing about.
 
Maybe as for the slavery society, the slaves are idle people being so bored, (which is threated like a disease by the idle people) that they want to do things and eventually start working(being a slave) to keep the society up. As for the downfall of this society I should propose an epidemic of boredom to make most people slaves and changing the society in a normal one.

This is what I should do, but I am just guessing, maybe my ideas just suck and I am ruining your story:eek: but yeah then use this post for deduction(the things not to write about)
 
That sounds good... I haven't stared writing yet though. At the moment I'm trying to think of some characters. I need one from each society really.
 
Earlier, someone mentioned that idleness is a result of technology(or some atleast).
I find this very true. Before machines and the increase of manpower thru technology,
there was always something to be done. Foraging, hunting, gathering wood, mining rocks etc. Whilst now large machine-run factories cut down on the amount of sentient beings present, thus creating idleness.

Back to the topic at hand...

I consider idleness to be doing nothing(besides basic functions in order to survive),
and the will to do nothing. Sitting on the couch, not watching TV, but just wondering off into the corners of your mind, kind of like a white spot that contains
nothing. A void, if you will.

Being idle is nice, it is relaxing and you forget what was bothering you. Sometimes
I reach a state of idleness while stretching(though I am not idle).

Usually during something uneventful, breakfast or late at night, for instance.
During those times I usually stare "past" the object I'm looking at, essentially
looking at nothing.


I can be idle for a small amount of time, 30-60 minutes at most.

I almost feel the effect of being depressed. I'm slow, I don't want to do anything,
and I don't want to talk to anyone. Just be alone.

When I'm tired, just want to think, or just want some time to relax, I'll be idle.
 
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