I actually think you may have it backwards here: “In the mental realm, the opposite may be true: the average person may be experiencing a pretty thorough mental workout just from day-to-day life”
In my view, mental “exercise” actually requires an absence of stimulation. This is increasingly difficult to find in the modern world, due to email, text, twitter etc.
Also in my view this may be why so many people are complaining of burnout. Boredom I believe may have benefits for mental health, and boredom is declining in our world
Good point! It could be that both kinds of mental exercise (excess stimulation and lack of stimulation) are important for building mental strength; modern society provides the former in abundance (and particularly so for LessWrong readers!), so the form of exercise we’re constrained on is the lack-of-stimulation kind (and that’s where meditation helps). How far-fetched does that sound?
Long-term meditator here (~4400 total hours).
I actually think you may have it backwards here: “In the mental realm, the opposite may be true: the average person may be experiencing a pretty thorough mental workout just from day-to-day life”
In my view, mental “exercise” actually requires an absence of stimulation. This is increasingly difficult to find in the modern world, due to email, text, twitter etc.
Also in my view this may be why so many people are complaining of burnout. Boredom I believe may have benefits for mental health, and boredom is declining in our world
Just my two cents—great piece :)
Good point! It could be that both kinds of mental exercise (excess stimulation and lack of stimulation) are important for building mental strength; modern society provides the former in abundance (and particularly so for LessWrong readers!), so the form of exercise we’re constrained on is the lack-of-stimulation kind (and that’s where meditation helps). How far-fetched does that sound?