While I am glad that Smallsteps is studying math, it annoys me a bit that in order to do so, she has to play a game on a computer for her class. She enjoys math without the game, and while many think that "learning should be fun", there are more studies coming out that gamifying education results in lower skills, not higher. In my view, if we teach kids that only things that are entertaining are worth doing, they are never going to excel or build deep skills, because in order to be very good at something, it takes repetition, and that means...
Boredom.
If a person can't learn to be bored while doing something over and over again, they are not going to build the foundation, let alone the higher level skills required for excellence. For instance, my wife used to ballroom dance in competitions, and from the age of seven to when she stopped a decade later, they practiced basic step in every session. Drilling, over and over and over, making slight variations and and drilling again, because it has to become mindless, it has to be held in the backbone, like breathing.
As a young kid, my wife didn't really understand it, but as she got a little older and she was able to pay attention to more than her own feelings and observe others, she could see the difference clearly in those who could breath the foundational positions, and those who could not. When able to "forget" the basics, there is energy and attention that can be spent on the more advance, complex components and getting those right.
I don't know when the war on boredom started and it got labelled harmful, but I see it as somewhat of a superpower in humans, as it forces us to reflect on our experience, and gets us to turn our attention toward the world around us and look for something to do. When we are constantly fed things to do, we both don't learn how to do for ourselves, and then become products of what we consume, which ends up not being our own choice, but that of the hand that feeds us.
There is something unsettling for me when people have so much content to fill their lives, so much entertainment and "busy" that they just don't have the time to be bored. I think that in the last few decades, the stream of attention-grabbing has increased exponentially, which is increasingly impacting on our lives. The landscape of content has changed considerably, as has the ability to target and get it into our hands on demand, but we as humans haven't actually evolved. Yet, we feel that because we aren't bored, we must be doing something right.
I think the opposite.
When we make everything a fun game, we set the expectation that this is the way life is, or should be. Ultimately, reality is going to set in to prove that incorrect, but by then it is too late, because we feel that we are entitled to certain conditions, entitled to have what we want, when we want it and for it to be enjoyable. Yet, the more of that life we have lived, the less capable we are of building the kind of life where we are able to look after ourselves. So we feel entitled to have a good life, but we *expect it to be delivered to us by others.
My daughter often complains about being bored, even though she has a thousand things she could be doing, a million games she could be inventing. I have actively been telling her to "find something to do" over the last couple years and she has been, but both my wife and I see the changes in here too, as she is socialized with the habits of her friends in the school.
We know the parents of one of her classmates, and the parent is complaining at times about how "all he does is play games on the phone" as if the parent has no control of this. Maybe they don't, but it isn't because they couldn't, it is because they won't take responsibility. It is easier to have kids play on a phone or tablet instead of spending time with them or encouraging them to find more constructive pursuits.
Kids are quiet when they are staring at the screen, they don't move, they concentrate, and they don't break anything. A parent can know where they are, no they are safe from being physically injured. But in my opinion, this is unnatural, as children should be moving, exploring, and have enough curiosity in the world that at least occasionally, they fail. And when I say fail, I mean fail at something that matters, not failing to beat the level boss in a game.
I might be wrong and these kids that grow up scaring at the screens and playing games, always entertained, will be highly valuable to society, the ones that build a better world in the future. But, from what I have observed in my own life so far, I don't think I am wrong. It is the creators that will reign, those with skill, those who have the skills to build. And to get those skills, it will be the ones who are able to be bored for long enough to not only repeat to mastery, but then innovate to evolve it further.
Sounds dull.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Even though your photography consists of mostly stills, you always, always capture the beauty, grace and fluidity of your wife, and now I know why! A ballroom dancer! I can well imagine the hours of dedication and boredom needed to become able to become adept enough for competition.
I'm guessing Smallsteps will find her way sooner or later. It's tougher on kids these days, with all of the electronics available. Back in my day we just had the radio lol.
I grew up living with my grandad in the house, so it was the "wireless" :D
She will find her way, but it will be a guided path.
That's why you are such good parents!
Getting bored is our genetic behaviour nothing much people can do about it. Somone may be bored doing something that doesn't mean other people will find it the same. Sticking to something for long time, bring us to boredom but that doesn't mean that it can't be restarted after a little refreshment.
Continual boredom! Ahh! Let me crack a joke. Take me as a very idle person and I find everything around me as boredom. So all the time I spent, I am in a continuous boredom. Should I be skilled person!?? : xd😭😭
We have to start fresh and put our brain into it. As I find till brain work in anything, no boringness comes. It comes when my brain can't think about it anymore. After a refreshment, it works well and no boredom again.🤣
We can't repeat a thing being bored. It is a fact.
There is a difference between getting bored doing something, and being bored doing nothing! :D
In science what you do is an work. xd
The idea of Gamification is not to create a game, but to use the scoring⇋reward⇋objective systems that normally make up games.
There are many platforms on the market that simulate environments with different mechanics, which can help us to put these techniques into practice, or we can use our imagination and create our own rules.
I'm sure you know the game Scrabble, we learned to create words, and we got rewards, it's a game that develops skills… The same is gamification, but in digital media.
Smallsteps, growing up fast… She will in due course fit in as a layman and find her destiny… For her parents are carving out a promising path for her.
"simulate environments" isn't the environment in reality, don't get them confused. It is a "platform" because it is static, limited, bound by the code. The people who spend too much of their time on them will improve their skills in a narrow form, but not be able to apply to the side. Look into the "brain trainer" game results, and see how effective they are laterally.
It is going to be interesting in the future to see the different outcomes from a meta sense of how kids have been raised. I think there has always been a difference in general outcomes, yet people focus on the exceptions to the rule, like the individual who ate what they wanted and never got fat, even though the other 99 who did the same did get fat.
The vast majority of parents use phones, tablets and laptops as a means of distraction and entertainment so that they can have more time to do their own thing. The other day I saw a neighborhood kid playing an extreme cycling game by doing stunts on his phone and the strange thing is that the kid is obese and would rather play with his phone than ride his bike and have fun. It all depends on how you raise your child.
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i think f someone is doing what he/she likes & being Passionate about won't feel bored even after a long time- might feel tired & need rest but not bored, for kids they need to learn the basics of things that r important n life even f they won't like them all nor b passionate about them all but still they r important & needs to learn them so it's gonna b gradual 1st n an attractive way then it gets more serious each year they grow, at university/college/polytech they will pick what they like what they r passionate about & that won't b boring for them no matter what, last thing it's totally normal for each generation to differ from the previous one including n teaching ways, that's how human-being developed through 10s of thousands of years, f each generation lived & learned as the previous one we wouldn't develop the way we developed & wouldn't use the useful techs we r using n all different fields, ur life/way of thinking/way of learning n schools differ even from ur grandfather who didn't use tabs or laptops instead used books & notebooks let alone ur ancestors who lived hundreds & thousands of years ago, so it's normal & no harm, even those kids will grow up & their kids learning n a total different way with god-knows what techs.
I've said this before, but my wife thinks that kids don't know how to be bored these days. I still think that learning to type is best done with a typewriter and a book. that's how I learned and I am pretty good. I didn't have fancy games or online programs to teach me.
Speaking about gaming. I don't understand why no one is buying my legendary card in splinterlands. It costed 20k DEC to unlock it and I am asking 20 dollars for it(while it should be worth around 32 since it has 2 BCX and for 1 BCX people are asking 16 dollars). Normally I sell my cards with much lesser discount and they sell imidetly. This time I placed a card for sale yesterday and it still has not been sold...
I completely agree with you. Many people do all it takes to avoid boredom at all cost. If only they could understand that boredom is powerful for self reflection and “necessary" for creativity. When we are always given something to do, we miss the chance to explore, trying out new things, looking inward and discovering our potentials, which often come about when we are bored. There is a need to do things, however, when we are bored, we should embrace it and maximize it. In that moment of stillness, we can become more aware of the world and find our place in it.
Very insightful! I totally agree with you.
Although the education system is updated every day by reducing the burden, I feel it is not the right way to do it, also applying immense pressure is not the correct way. There should be a balance. I loved practicing maths from the older books, as those had a lot of maths to practice. New books have interesting techniques, but that does not cut it.
Being able to be bored and still move on is a superpower! And to be good at something, there is no other way than repetition.
Modern technology has many things to offer, but experience tells me, that one in a thousand uses it effectively to achieve greatness.
Getting back to basics, children need the outdoors to play and let off energy which stimulates the brain. Toys like good old Lego got them thinking on how to build, small microscopes to tinker and check objects.
Totally agree there is no time for boredom, repetitive pushes one to excel in a particular thing. I find it worrisome how children sit with eyes glued to screens more often than not of late, and it is being promoted!