In Praise of Wasting Time by Alan Lightman
When was the last time you found yourself doing nothing or sitting in quiet contemplation or simply looking out the window? Most of us think nothing of scrolling through social media while talking to a friend on the phone, or answering emails and texts while in a meeting. While this may seem productive and make us feel that we are excellent multi-taskers, it might not be good for us.
Alan Lightman is a physicist, novelist, and essayist who believes we are losing ourselves in the digital network and builds a case that the overload of Information and distraction from technology is making us less productive.
The MIT professor who has been described as the “poet laureate of science writers” joined Roxanne to discuss his latest book In Praise of Wasting Time (Simon and Schuster). Lightman believes we need a mental attitude that values and protects stillness, privacy, solitude, and personal reflection, or at the very least, a half an hour a day to “waste time”.
We hope this conversation helps you unplug…but don’t put down whatever device you’re using to listen to this podcast just yet!
To purchase any of the books in this episode, please visit RJ Julia Booksellers
In Praise of Wasting Time by Alan Lightman
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine by Alan Lightman
Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman
The Trial by Franz Kafka
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
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