Inthistimelyandessentialbookthatoffersafreshtakeonthequalmsofmoderndaylife,ProfessorAlanLightmaninvestigatesthecreativitybornfromallowingourmindstofreelyroam,withoutattemptingtoaccomplishanythingandwithoutanyassignedtasks.Weareallworriedaboutwastingtime.EspeciallyintheWest,wehavecreatedafrenziedlifestyleinwhichthetwenty--fourhoursofeachdayarecarvedup,dissected,andreduceddowntotenminuteunitsofefficiency.WetakeouriPhonesandlaptopswithusonvacation.Wecheckemailatrestaurantsorourbrokerageaccountswhilewalkinginthepark.Whentheschooldayends,ourchildrenareoverloadedwith“extras.“Ouruniversitycurriculaaresocrammedouryoungpeopledon’thavetimetoreflectonthematerialtheyaresupposedtobelearning.Yetinthefaceofourtime-drivenexistence,agreatdealofevidencesuggeststhereisgreatvaluein“wastingtime,“oflettingthemindliefallowforsomeperiods,oflettingminutesandevenhoursgobywithoutscheduledactivitiesorintendedtasks.GustavMahlerroutinelytookthreeorfour--hourwalksafterlunch,stoppingtojotdownideasinhisnotebook.CarlJungdidhismostcreativethinkingandwritingwhenhevisitedhiscountryhouse.Inhis1949autobiography,AlbertEinsteindescribedhowhisthinkinginvolvedlettinghismindroamovermanypossibilitiesandmakingconnectionsbetweenconceptsthatwerepreviouslyunconnected.WithInPraiseofWastingTime,ProfessorAlanLightmandocumentstherushandheaveofthemodernworld,suggeststhetechnologicalandculturaloriginsofourtime--drivenlives,andexaminesthemanyvaluesof“wastingtime“--forreplenishingthemind,forcreativethought,andforfindingandsolidifyingtheinnerself.Breakfreefromtheideathatwemustnotwasteasinglesecond,anddiscoverhowsometimesthebestthingtodoistodonothingatall.
