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Predictability

The thing about predictability is, it is not really possible to do so. But we have learned to draw some conclusions of what will probably happen next. Despite all the benefits of this ability, on some occasions it causes boredom. Concerning this point, there is an interesting part in Douglas Adams novel Mostly Harmless. The protagonist, Arthur Dent, ends up on a planet whose inhabitants are amazingly similar to humankind, except the fact they don´t pursue anything. Consequently Arthur undergoes some difficulties coping with their culture and mindset. For example, he is not the great enthusiast of their literature:

He preferred not to think about it. He preferred just to sit and read - or at least he would prefer it if there was anything worth reading. But nobody in Bartledanian stories ever wanted anything. Not even a glass of water. Certainly, they would fetch one if they were thirsty, but if there wasn’t one available, they would think no more about it. He had just read an entire book in which the main character had, over the course of a week, done some work in his garden, played a great deal of netball, helped mend a road, fathered a child on his wife and then unexpectedly died of thirst just before the last chapter. In exasperation Arthur had combed his way back through the book and in the end had found a passing reference to some problem with the plumbing in Chapter 2. And that was it. So the guy dies. It just happens.

Adams, Douglas: Mostly Harmless, London 1996

There seems to be some deep connection between boredom and the lack of excitement. However, nowadays we face more and more complex and confusing situations. Is it influencing on when we start to experience something as too predictable? If something bores us, can we just rush off in a sonicyouthy whirlwind, heat and flash? For Arthur, the reaction upon realizing how utterly boring his residence was, turned out rather drastic:

Arthur threw the book across the room, sold the room and left.

Adams, Douglas: Mostly Harmless, London 1996