Isolation + Boredom = Innovation
*illustration by Lim Heng Swee
Epidemics have been a recurring threat throughout history.
As we are currently seeing, economies, businesses and trading capacities are greatly impacted. However, historically for those who specialised in certain fields, isolation provided the perfect opportunity for creating their magnum opus. With little entertainment came extensive boredom which forced the creativity that led to some revolutionary thinking.
No Boredom = No Innovation?
Now however, the great escape technology provides us is alleviation from the boredom.
The etymology of the word ‘Boredom’ is surprisingly negative when its positive influence is considered. The expression ‘a bore’ to mean ‘tiresome or dull’ has been used at least since 1768. This sentiment is reflected in other languages, in German ‘boredom’ is expressed as ‘Langeweile’ which literally means long while. Despite this, boredom has been an impressively positive force for revolutionary thinking, as demonstrated by Newton whose state of boredom whilst in isolation at Woolsthrope Manor for 18 months during the bubonic plague in 1665 began his infamous theory of gravity.
Now that Netflix has had to reduce its bandwidth by 25% to meet demands, it will be interesting to see whether our technological escapism prevents us from being bored enough to realise something revolutionary.
The reason behind the correlation between isolation and breakthrough is really quite simple.
People are given extensive amounts of time to divert to a particular area of interest which increases the chance of a breakthrough.
When there is an upheaval of normal life people are often forced by necessity to adapt, which further increases the chances of new ideas and inventions. War is another good example of this as technological advancement is key. By the end of WW2 there were countless new weapons, the jet engine, radar and synthetic rubber and oil.
“It’s not that I’m so smart, It’s just that I stay with problems longer”
Boredom is an important part of the equation as lack of entertainment and distraction encourages full concentration on a particular subject, even if your focus is on solving the problem of boredom itself. Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein to entertain herself during the lockdown in the summer of 1816 due to the Mount Tambora volcano eruption. Another example is Michelangelo who, in order to alleviate his boredom spent two months in a small room painting on the walls with chalk and charcoal after supporting a revolt against the Medici which forced him to isolate.
This characteristic of brilliance remains for those who will be considered outliers in the future. Therefore, this isolation period could absolutely produce a new invention. It is certainly forcing people to re-consider aspects of their lives under threat from Covid-19.
Will the flood of entertainment vying for our attention, prevent our time being used productively? I don’t think it will.
This idea of self-improvement is being accepted by many. Along with trying to adapt businesses and deal with the impact on wider families, many people are choosing to educate themselves about something new. LinkedIn has reported its learning courses have had a 130% increase in membership in March (over February). This suggests new free time is being used productively and people are eager to engage themselves with something to counter the idea that we would all just sit around watching films.
Overall, the key message to take from this blog is that history suggests now is the time to make your breakthrough. Your aim is to get to the level of boredom that allows you to realise the next big thing.