Well, now I know how I am different from most other men.
People, and especially men, hate being alone with their thoughts so much that they’d rather be in pain. In a study published in Science Thursday on the ability of people to let their minds “wander” — that is, for them to sit and do nothing but think — researchers found that about a quarter of women and two-thirds of men chose electric shocks over their own company.
Granted that I read and write a lot, sometimes for as much as 18 hours a day. I guess reading isn’t really being alone in your head. Nonetheless, the only time I want to shock myself is when people won’t stop interrupting me while I’m trying to think.
I’d do really well in solitary confinement, especially if I knew exactly when someone would intrude and interrupt my thoughts by bringing me food or letting me shower or exercise. Most people would apparently go mad in short order.
