The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry   /     12. Bored to Death

Description

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

Subtitle
Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain wonder whether you die of boredom?
Duration
1821
Publishing date
2024-12-28 09:50
Link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0024055
Contributors
  BBC Radio 4
author  
Enclosures
http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0jvphbn.mp3
audio/mpeg