This is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedanthan.

The topic for today's show is one of the most difficult we've ever handled.

Why? It's boredom.

And it's really hard to make boredom interesting.

Social scientists have been studying boredom for many years.

Why people get stuck in boring jobs?

But now imagine standing there.

All day long.

I cannot imagine a more boring job.

How to combat boredom.

The reason for a more hot sauce is that lack of sensory stimulation from your environment

that you're compensating for it by putting hot sauce on.

And the pernicious effects that boredom has on our lives.

Boredom, some scientists say, creates a feeling of meaninglessness.

So keep listening. I promise you won't be bored.

Really?

In Greek mythology, King Sisyphus is accused by the gods of being vain, avaricious and egotistical.

Upon his death, he's condemned to roll a boulder up a hill, watch it roll down the other side,

and then repeat the process for all eternity.

Now, we've all been there.

Stocking repetitious boring jobs, doing boring chores, getting bored in class.

Some time ago, I spoke with Peter Ubo from Duke University.

...