Stephanie Santos/The Cougar

Many of us in this generation experience a state of  “solitude deprivation” in which we deprive ourselves of alone time in favor of interacting with others.

We now live in a time where solitude can be entirely erased from our lives.

At the slightest hint of boredom, we glance at a world of posts carefully curated to fit our taste and meticulously engineered to give an immediate and satisfying dose of input.

This is a recent phenomenon in the 21st century.  In the past, isolation was not only inevitable but often sought after by those pursuing great intellectual, spiritual and emotional challenges.

When we remove solitude from our lives, we not only become more prone to anxiety but also miss out on the subtle, profound value that a wandering mind can generate. Isaac Newton, one of the world’s most influential figures, was known to thrive in solitude.

When Newton left Cambridge during a global pandemic to return to his family’s farm at Woolsthorpe Manor, he produced some of his greatest work, including the invention of calculus and the theory of gravity, all while in near isolation for almost two years.

Similarly, a more contemporary figure is the renowned filmmaker Christopher Nolan whose practices revolve around intense focus and a strict disconnection from distractions.

On set and in personal life, Nolan enforces a no-phone policy, ensuring everyone involved is fully engaged in the creative process. “I am easily distractible, so I don’t want to have access to the internet every time I am bored. I do a lot of my best thinking in those in-between moments that people now fill with online activity,” Nolan said.

Likewise, Nolan also doesn’t use email. Actor Cillian Murphy, in reference to “Oppenheimer,” told media outlets that Nolan flew from L.A. to give him the actual script rather than emailing. 

Judging by Newton’s and Nolan’s successes, solitude benefits any creative pursuit. However, this does not just apply to scientists and filmmakers. 

David McCullough, the renowned American historian behind best-sellers like “1776, The Wright Brothers,” and the Pulitzer-winning biography of John Adams, finds inspiration in a small, remote cabin with green doors and windows blending in with the forest surrounding it. 

This simple workspace includes over 1,000 books, a desk, chair, lamp and a typewriter he’s used since the 1960s. “Nothing good was ever written in a large room,” McCullough said. “People say with a computer you could go so much faster. Well, I don’t want to go faster. If anything, I should go slower.”

This attitude is also supported by numerous academic studies on solitude, including a paper published by researchers at the University of Tübingen in the “=Journal of Experimental Psychology.

Psychologists studied a group of over 250 people who were encouraged to engage in directionless contemplation or free-floating thinking, according to The Guardian.

Kou Murayama, the lead author of the paper, explained that participants not only underestimated the potential enjoyment and engagement of free-thinking, but they also proactively avoided just waiting to think. 

“That could explain why people prefer keeping themselves busy with devices and other distractions, rather than taking a moment for reflection and imagination in daily life,” Murayama said.

In a world increasingly filled with distractions, the value of solitude and reflection has been lost.  Yet, it is in those moments of stillness where our minds can flourish.

Perhaps, as we navigate the noise of the modern world, we should take a lesson from these great thinkers and embrace solitude as a means to spark our own intellectual and creative breakthroughs.

Melissa Unlu is a computer science senior who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“We need to prioritize solitude as much as socializing” was originally posted on The Cougar