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When we experience boredom, we tend to experience it as uncomfortable and agitating, and seek to banish it with some ready\xa0distraction. Or, we try to look at boredom sort of piously, as something we should learn to sit with, because it builds character.\n\nMy guest today would argue that it's best to see boredom\xa0more neutrally -- as simply an important signal that we need to change up what we're doing, and become more effective and engaged in the world.\n\nHis name is James Danckert, and he's a cognitive\xa0neuroscientist and professor of psychology, as well as the co-author of Out of My Skull: The Psychology\xa0of Boredom. We begin our conversation with how boredom has been thought about in history and philosophy, and yet largely ignored\xa0by psychologists. We then discuss what it really means to be bored and what types of people are most prone to boredom. James explains how boredom is related\xa0to our sense of agency and the role constraints play in increasing it. We then get into how people's propensity towards boredom changes across the lifespan, and at what ages you're more and less likely to experience it. We end our conversation with the negative effects of being boredom prone, including the way boredom may increase political extremism, and the more positive and adaptive ways to deal with being bored.\n\nGet the show notes at aom.is/boredom.