When the rest of the world thinks we are idle, the brain, if properly trained, is following its own path. Only then, are we truly thinking. The rest of the time, we are analyzing and reacting, but our thoughts are then determined by responses to the thoughts of others. Unless we spend time in reflection - in idleness - we can never truly think thoughts of our own.

Already, we live in an era which there is little time for idle thinking. Whether in the storms of political argument or the hyper-kinetic pace of the workplace, we are called upon constantly to respond rather than reflect. The education of the young, increasingly built around the rapid-fire model of the standardized test, enhances only the model of thought in which speed is everything and reflection is for those who are left behind. As young people increasingly fill their free time with texting and other similarly fast-paced, attention absorbing activities, the opportunities for sustained reflective thought will continue to fade.

Majority of this text is mainly found in the article written by Stephen L. Carter adapted from the essay 'Praise of Idleness' by Philosopher Bertrand Russel.

Labels: Gen Y, Philosophy