"BOREDOM is a much underrated state of mind. If more people would just embrace being bored, there would by logical extension be less excitement. Less excitement means more stability: no one waves swords about or starts shouting the odds, and the planet spins on more peaceable paths.
But boredom is not easy. It is something that has to be cultivated. There exists, however, no formal training in the art. Our technical colleges and breeze-block universities offer no courses in boredom. There is not even a SCOTVEC qualification in the subject.
Schoolteachers, though, are starting to see the value of boredom and have recognised that there is a need for pupils to accept that it is a necessary part of life."
Mr McNeil has it all wrong. Teachers have always been experts in generating boredom. If O-grade latin and higher mathematics do not constitute qualifications in boredom, what does? And studying for an arts degree is a necessary pre-requisite for years of boredom sitting in an office, or a court, or a parliament.
No, boredom is easy; it does not require cultivation, it comes naturally. It is excitement that's difficult.
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