Boredom Week was an opportunity to ‘take it easy’, but it did not mean that we abandoned all activities. However, those that took place allowed us to engage in science ‘on a lawnchair’ and in a more relaxed form. After all, relaxation is also necessary for our brain to work better and more efficiently!
During the week, participants could find out what the ‘most boring scientific experiment in the world’ is – the pitch drop experiment, which has been going on continuously for almost 100 years and whose aim is to measure the frequency of coal tar pitch drop flow from a funnel. The event of interest to us occurs only once every 10 years.
Those interested could also spend time by the Rawa River, near the University of Silesia rectorate, where scientific podcasts of the European City of Science 2024 were played.
During the week, psychologists also talked about what the mind does when it is not occupied. Some participants took part in an experiment during which it was tested how long they could do nothing.
Boredom Week was also accompanied by Wikimania, the annual international conference of Wikipedians. This year it took place in Katowice on 7-10 August.
