--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In short, humans are programmed to get…" description: "\"In short, humans are programmed to get bored.\" — Emily Oster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/emily-oster-12697_bored_in-short-humans-are-programmed-to-get-bo_2406338.png" --- # In short, humans are programmed to get bored. ![“In short, humans are programmed to get bored.” quote by Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/emily-oster-12697_bored_in-short-humans-are-programmed-to-get-bo_2406338.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/emily-oster-12697_bored_in-short-humans-are-programmed-to-get-bo_2406338.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/emily-oster-12697_bored_in-short-humans-are-programmed-to-get-bo_2406338.png) > “In short, humans are programmed to get bored.” [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans naturally seek novelty, so boredom arises when tasks lack stimulation. **In simple terms:** People get bored without new stimuli. Key Takeaway Introduce variety to stay engaged. Themes boredom motivation novelty Mood restless reflective Type motivational observational When to use this quote - workplace - education - creative projects - personal routines Key Concepts psychology behavioral economics Questions to Reflect On - What activities spark your curiosity? - How can you redesign routine tasks? A Different Perspective Boredom can also signal deeper dissatisfaction, not just lack of stimulus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/) [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ## Related quotes > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Dear Brain, Please start being able to tell the difference between hungry and bored. Sincerely, I am getting fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-brain-please-start-being-able-to-tell-the-difference-between/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are children who will leave a game to go and be bored in a corner of the garret. How often have I wished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/there-are-children-who-will-leave-a-game-to-go-and-be-bored-in-a/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [The only boring people I know are bored people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-only-boring-people-i-know-are-bored-people/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [If you have to ask the person if they're bored, you already know the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/if-you-have-to-ask-the-person-if-they-re-bored-you-already-know-the/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“... an artist should paint from the heart, and not always what people expect. Predictability often leads to the dullest work, in my opinion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-artist-should-paint-from-the-heart-and-not-always-what-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That is Buddha's meaning of nirvana: to be free from life and death, to be free from desire. The moment you are free from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-is-buddha-s-meaning-of-nirvana-to-be-free-from-life-and-death-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Both in their origins and effects, boredom and stuffy air resemble each other. They are usually generated whenever a large number of people gather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/both-in-their-origins-and-effects-boredom-and-stuffy-air-resemble/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [A utopia cannot, by definition, include boredom, but the 'utopia' we are living in is boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-utopia-cannot-by-definition-include-boredom-but-the-utopia-we-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The worst sin, the ultimate sin for me, in anything, is to be bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/the-worst-sin-the-ultimate-sin-for-me-in-anything-is-to-be-bored/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person. Nothing is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-such-thing-on-earth-as-an-uninteresting-subject-the-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Emily Oster > [Economists actually disagree about whether there are significant economic returns from attending an elite college versus a less-selective one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/economists-actually-disagree-about-whether-there-are-significant/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [Young women who live in areas with high maternal mortality change their behavior less in response to HIV than young women who live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/young-women-who-live-in-areas-with-high-maternal-mortality-change/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [“So why did my conclusions differ from theirs? At least two reasons. One is overinterpretation of flawed studies. But the bigger thing, I think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/so-why-did-my-conclusions-differ-from-theirs-at-least-two-reasons-one/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [How much is an hour of your time worth? It's worth whatever wage you would get if you spent that hour working. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/how-much-is-an-hour-of-your-time-worth-it-s-worth-whatever-wage-you/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [Even though it is the case that poverty is linked to AIDS, in the sense that Africa is poor and they have a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/even-though-it-is-the-case-that-poverty-is-linked-to-aids-in-the/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [Education campaigns ... may not be enough, at least not alone. If people have no incentive to avoid AIDS on their own, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/education-campaigns-may-not-be-enough-at-least-not-alone-if-people/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [Even if you are planning a birth with an epidural, the evidence suggests that a doula can help make things go much more smoothly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/even-if-you-are-planning-a-birth-with-an-epidural-the-evidence/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [I think that there's a real sense in which pregnancy should be something that you do with your doctor, but I think that for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/i-think-that-there-s-a-real-sense-in-which-pregnancy-should-be/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [I am extremely devoted to Amazon Prime - which offers speedier free deliveries, free movie streaming and other benefits for an annual fee -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/i-am-extremely-devoted-to-amazon-prime-which-offers-speedier-free/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [Prenatal testing is a complicated decision for many women, forcing us to confront concerns about a disabled child and risks of miscarriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/prenatal-testing-is-a-complicated-decision-for-many-women-forcing-us/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [If you asked me which gives me more joy, my work or my family, there is no question that it's my family. Hands down.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/if-you-asked-me-which-gives-me-more-joy-my-work-or-my-family-there-is/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [The main concern with a very large baby is difficulty in delivery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/the-main-concern-with-a-very-large-baby-is-difficulty-in-delivery/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [If you have a traditional view of economics, you're probably thinking of Ben Bernanke making Fed policy, or the guys creating financial derivatives at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/if-you-have-a-traditional-view-of-economics-you-re-probably-thinking/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [Being pregnant was a lot like being a child again. There was always someone telling you what to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/being-pregnant-was-a-lot-like-being-a-child-again-there-was-always/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [Talking to women about birth can be polarizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/talking-to-women-about-birth-can-be-polarizing/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) [Explore all 53 Emily Oster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) ## More Bored quotes > [Normal is so Boring!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/normal-is-so-boring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you're focused, you can't get bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/if-you-re-focused-you-can-t-get-bored/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Being blonde, for me, means never having to say: 'I'll have the honey-striped half-head of highlights for £200,' to a bored colourist in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-johnson/being-blonde-for-me-means-never-having-to-say-i-ll-have-the-honey/) [Rachel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-johnson/) > [Someone else who liked what I did might turn around and say, "She's reworking and rethinking everything. She could just be making blankets now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/someone-else-who-liked-what-i-did-might-turn-around-and-say-she-s/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [When I get bored I say fck the police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-get-bored-i-say-fck-the-police/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was taking all prints and I brought them to the Magnum meetings, trying the old Josef Koudelka trick: Give them to photographers, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-agtmael/i-was-taking-all-prints-and-i-brought-them-to-the-magnum-meetings/) [Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-agtmael/) > [“She wouldn't pick up a fight him just because she was bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/she-wouldn-t-pick-up-a-fight-him-just-because-she-was-bored/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [...sometimes I get tired. Sometimes I get bored. And sometimes all I want, more than anything else in the world, is to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/sometimes-i-get-tired-sometimes-i-get-bored-and-sometimes-all-i-want/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [I was sober for five years a long time ago and was just bored out of my tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-was-sober-for-five-years-a-long-time-ago-and-was-just-bored-out-of/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) [Browse all 2,067 Bored quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In short, humans are programmed to get bored.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Oster" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/in-short-humans-are-programmed-to-get-bored/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bored" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/in-short-humans-are-programmed-to-get-bored/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/emily-oster-12697_bored_in-short-humans-are-programmed-to-get-bo_2406338.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/emily-oster-12697_bored_in-short-humans-are-programmed-to-get-bo_2406338.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/emily-oster-12697_bored_in-short-humans-are-programmed-to-get-bo_2406338.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In short, humans are programmed to get bored.” — Emily Oster", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emily Oster", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In short, humans are programmed to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/in-short-humans-are-programmed-to-get-bored/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/in-short-humans-are-programmed-to-get-bored/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```