12. Bored to Death

Curious Cases

BBC

Technology, Science

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 28 December 2024

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Anyone who has ever done a long car journey with kids will be familiar with the idea of being bored to death – but can this feeling really be fatal?

Hannah and Dara hear about a club where members count roundabouts and collect milk bottle tops, but boredom expert Wijnand van Tilburg explains these dull-sounding hobbies might actually have mental health benefits. He explains that science and comedy are stereotypically both seen as exciting subjects but warns them their chat about Venn diagrams might tip the balance the other way.

Mind-wandering specialist Mike Esterman reveals why we're rubbish at staying on task when there are more rewarding things to do, and sets the pair a challenge to play a computer game that distracts them with pictures of cute babies and fluffy animals.

Contributors:

Dr Wijnand van Tilburg: University of Essex Dr Mike Esterman: Boston Attention and Learning Lab

Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to quickly tell you about some others.
0:05.2	My name's Andy Martin and I'm the editor of a team of podcast producers at the BBC in Northern Ireland.
0:11.3	It's a job I really love because we get to tell the stories that really matter to people here,
0:16.3	but which also resonate and apply to listeners around the world.
0:19.6	And because the team is such a diverse
0:21.2	range of skills and strengths, we have trained journalists, people who love digging through
0:26.0	archives, we've got drama and even comedy experts. We really can do those stories justice. So if
0:31.8	you like this podcast, head to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more fascinating stories
0:37.1	from all around the UK. BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more fascinating stories from all around the UK.
0:40.1	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:46.7	I'm Hannah Frye.
0:47.9	And I'm Dara O'Brien.
0:49.1	And this is Curious Cases.
0:50.8	The show will we take your quirkiest questions?
0:52.8	Your crunchiest conundrums. And then we solve
0:55.0	them. With the power of science. I mean, do we always solve them? I mean, the hit rate's pretty
0:59.4	low. But it is with science. It is with science. Hi, we're doing a test, myself and Hannah.
1:08.7	We are. We are. It's on the boredom-pronness scale, BPS.
1:12.5	I don't think it's an official scale.
1:14.4	This looks a lot more like a sort of internet quiz from the 90s.
1:18.2	Oh, it does a bit.
1:19.1	So it's not like, you know, the Glasgow stool scale or whatever.
	...

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