Writer Oliver Burkeman wanders through the archives thinking about the pros and cons of idleness. Helping with his enquiries are Bagpuss, Reagan and The Slobs, among others. Show more The writer, ...

“My father always called me a ‘useless article,’ ” Chris Davis tells me, driving through Bristol, England. “He said it in a rather nice way, of course.” In the midst of my research I had come up to ...

To be idle is to not be doing anything. Idleness is often romanticized, as epitomized by the Italian expression dolce far niente (‘it is sweet to do nothing’). Many people tell themselves that they ...