View source for Idleness

{{Short description|Inactive state, usually of a person or machine}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2010}}
[[File:Daniel Hernández Morillo - Perezosa (Idle Woman) - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|388px|''[[Idle Woman]]'', painting by [[Daniel Hernández Morillo]] ]]
'''Idleness''' is a lack of [[Motion (physics)|motion]] or [[energy]]. In describing a person, ''idle'' suggests having no [[Work (human activity)|labor]]: "idly passing the day". 

In physics, an idle machine exerts no [[Work (physics)|transfer of energy]]. When a vehicle is not in motion, an [[Idle (engine)|idling engine]] does no useful [[Work (thermodynamics)|thermodynamic work]]. In computing, an idle [[computer processor|processor]] or [[communication circuit|network circuit]] is not being used by any [[computer program|program]], application, or message. 

== Cultural norms ==
[[File:Kannur Kerala, India.jpg|thumbnail|People idling in [[Kannur]], India]]
Typically, when one describes a machine as idle, it is an objective statement regarding its current state. However, when used to describe a person, idle typically carries a negative [[connotation]], with the assumption that the person is wasting their time by doing nothing of value.

Such a view is reflected in the [[proverb]] "an idle mind is the devil's workshop". Also, the popular phrase "[[wikt:kill time#English|killing time]]" refers to idleness and can be defined as spending time doing nothing in particular in order that time seems to pass more quickly. These interpretations of idleness are not universal – they are more typically associated with Western cultures.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} Idleness was considered a [[disorderly conduct|disorderly offence]] in England punishable as a [[summary offense]].<ref>"Another branch of ſummary proceedings is that before juſtices of the peace, in order to inflict divers petty pecuniary mulcts, and corporal penalties, denounced by act of parliament for many diſorderly offences; ſuch as common ſwearing, drunkenneſs, vagrancy, idleneſs, and a vaſt variety of others, for which I muſt refer the ſtudent to the juſtice-books formerly cited, and which uſed to be formerly puniſhed by the verdict of a jury in the [[court-leet]]." [[Commentaries on the Laws of England]], Sir [[William Blackstone]]</ref>

== Analysis and interpretation ==
Philosopher [[Bertrand Russell]] published ''[[In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays]]'' in 1935, exploring the virtues of being idle in modern society. 

Founded in 1993 by [[Tom Hodgkinson]], the magazine [[The Idler (1993)|''The Idler'']] is devoted to promoting the ethos of "idle living". Hodgkinson published ''How to Be Idle'' in 2005 (subsequently subtitled ''A Loafer's Manifesto'' in 2007), also aimed to improve the public perception of idling.

''[[The Importance of Being Idle (book)|The Importance of Being Idle: A Little Book of Lazy Inspiration]]'' is a humorous self-help book published in August 2000. The book inspired the title of [[The Importance of Being Idle (song)|the 2005 chart-topping single]] by English rock band [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]]. 

[[Mark Slouka]] published the essay "Quitting the Paint Factory: The Virtues of Idleness", hinting at a [[post-scarcity]] economy and linking conscious busyness with anti-democratic and [[fascist]] tendencies.<ref>[[Mark Slouka|Slouka, Mark]] (2004) [http://www.molvray.com/ebooks/Quitting_the_Paint_Factory_Mark_Slouka.html "Quitting the Paint Factory"] ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', November 2004.</ref>

''Idleness: A Philosophical Essay'' is a 2018 publication contending the idle state is one of true freedom.<ref>[[Brian O'Connor (writer)|Brian, O'Connor]] (2018) [https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691204505/idleness Idleness: A Philosophical Essay] 
Princeton University Press</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=40em}}
* [[Inert (disambiguation)|Inert]]
* [[Laziness]]
* [[Leisure]]
* [[Loitering]]
* [[Refusal of work]]
* [[Scientific management#Soldiering|Soldiering]]
* [[Slow movement (culture)]]
* [[Work (disambiguation)]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{cite book | last = Jordan | first = Sarah | title = Anxieties of Idleness: Idleness in Eighteenth-century British Literature and Culture | publisher = Anxieties of Idleness: Idleness in Eighteenth-century British Literature and Culture | location = London | year = 2003 | isbn = 0838755232}}
*{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/in-praise-of-idleness-26226029.html |title=In praise of idleness |first=John |last=Masterson |newspaper=[[Irish Independent]] |date=31 October 2004 |access-date=1 January 2021}}


{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Human behavior]]