Don't Make Me Think

Recent studies show that people would rather self-administer an electric shock than to sit still and think.

The ancient psalmist advised, "When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent" (emphasis added).

Good advice, no doubt. But we can't help but wonder if such "pondering" was as disliked then as it is today.

Recent research suggests that people don't like to ponder or think these days. The report summarized the results as follows: "In 11 studies, we found that participants typically did not enjoy spending six to 15 minutes in a room by themselves with nothing to do but think, that they enjoyed doing mundane external activities much more. ..."

We'd rather do something mindless and mundane than to sit still and think.

Think about that for a moment. Oh, right ... we don't like to do that.

Homiletics' sister publication, The Wired Word, also reported on this research, explaining, "Participants in the study ranged in age from 18 to 77. They were told to entertain themselves alone in a room just with their thoughts, or to imagine doing one of three pleasant activities...