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The Wandering Mind: How the Brain Allows Us to Mentally Wander Off to Another Time and Place

- Julia W. Y. Kam

Imagine this: you are sitting in a classroom on a sunny day as your science teacher enthusiastically tells you what our brain is capable of doing. Initially, you pay close attention to what the teacher is saying. But the sound of the words coming out of her mouth gradually fade away as you notice your stomach growling and you begin to think about that delicious ice cream you had last night. Have you ever caught yourself mind wandering? In similar situations, where your eyes are fixed on your teacher, friends, or parents, but your mind has secretly wandered off to another time and place? You may be recalling the last sports game you watched or fantasizing about going to the new amusement park this upcoming weekend, or humming your favorite tune that you just cannot get out of your head. This experience is what scientists call mind wandering, which is a period of time when we are focused on things that are not related to the ongoing task or what is actually going on around us.
Humans on average spend up to half of their waking hours mind wandering.

License information: CC BY 4.0
MPAA: G
Go to source: https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2017.00025

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