Community Problem report

Nathan Santillana
80509138

For ages, human beings have continued to advance at an extraordinary pace. First,
architectural wonders such as the Egyptian pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the more modern
Eiffel tower, and the modern day skyscrapers that reach magnificent heights. Architecture is just
a speck in the sea of amazing human accomplishments. Knowledge was transformed in eras such
as the Renaissance and the rise of modern technology in the 20th century. Entertainment such as
music was experimented with and changed as well. Now, the genres of music are numerous as
they are remarkable. Humans have become so advanced that the sky is no longer the limit. Our
species has now traveled to the moon, designed satellites that orbit the planet, and sent drones to
distant planets in our solar system. Why then, has laziness become such a palpable struggle,
affecting countless individuals? What has caused recent generations to lack the motivation to
pursue their own advancement? How is it that many humans have settled so drastically that many
lose any motivation? One thing is certain, every problem has a seed, and if nurtured, every seed
sprouts a harvest.
Everyday tasks, in general, are very easily carried out. Tidying ones room is a perfect
example. The act of cleaning a room is a task which can be done in an hour maximum with the
lack of any extra strenuous effort, yet, many homes seem to have rooms in which the occupants
have allowed the state of their living quarters to reach baffling extremes, rivaling the local
landfill. Excluding any person with physical limitations, cleaning a bedroom is not the hardest of
tasks. It might even be the easiest as no more than basic brain power is needed. Still, many
countless people have adopted a crippling sense of tradeoff. As presented by Neel Burtons
article, the Psychology of Laziness, A person is being lazy if he is able to carry out some activity
that he ought to carry out, but is disinclined to do so because of the effort involved. Although

this has, no doubt, been a human struggle since the establishment of civilization, it seems as
though it has become a norm. Is the seed a lack of effort?
Before technology or infrastructure, humans lived in a very primitive world in which the
strong survived and the weak perished. The need to hunt and gather for nourishment left no room
for laziness. Nowadays, hunting and gathering are more of a sport than a necessity. It is very
possible that this increase in laziness may trump or hinder any further quick advancement of our
species in the future. Technology has removed the trouble of gathering any source of food, as
food is typically only a few miles away from ones home. Nourishing oneself is as easy as
jumping into a vehicle and making a quick stop at the local supermarket. It seems that humans
have become so efficient that the lack of effort to stay alive has caused the majority of todays
population to incline towards a lazier lifestyle.
Laziness, may seem as a choice, I have a task to do, but I choose not to do it because the
importance of the task doesnt outweigh the effort I have to put into getting it done, but recent
studies on rats have showed strange results which may label laziness as a possible genetic trait.
As stated in Michael D. Robertss, Phenotypic and molecular differences between rats selectively
bred to voluntarily run high vs. low nightly distances, a journal published on the American
Physiological Society, The purpose of the present study was to partially phenotype male and
female rats from generations 810 that had been selectively bred to possess low (LVR) vs.
high voluntary running (HVR) behavior. Over the first 6 days with wheels, 34-day-old G8 male
and female LVRs ran shorter distances, spent less time running, and ran slower than their G8
male and female HVR counterparts. This might give many of us lazy people a bit of breather
although may not be true for humans.

It has always seemed that problematic laziness is a very new concept, but, in fact, ancient
texts such as the Bible, have for ages looked down upon laziness or in its more biblically referred
form, Sloth. As humorously but wisely presented by the Bibles various authors, Like vinegar
to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy one to those who send him- Proverbs 10:26,
laziness is a detrimental habit which may negatively affect those who are involved with or
around said lazy person. How many times has a lazy partner crippled the progress of a project or
how frustrating is it when one has to quickly write a paper which was put off till the last minute?
Apparently, laziness is not a new thing, but it has definitely increased in the last century.
Aside from the previously presented ideas, laziness in fact may very well be heavily
linked to our own psychology. Theories conclude that laziness might be a passive aggressive way
in which humans, who had overbearing parents during their childhood, rebel in their adulthood.
Another more personal theory is that many of us are afraid to fail so in turn we decide to just put
the task out of mind and do it later. The article, You aren't just lazy these 7 psychological
theories explain why you procrastinate, published on Business Insider by Shana Lebowitz, has
presented various psychological theories which may explain why people tend to procrastinate (a
derivate of laziness), procrastination often stems from much deeper psychological issues
procrastination is a passive aggressive way to rebel against external agents of control
something they weren't able to do when they were young if you procrastinate and do mess
things up, you can blame it on the fact that you were rushed. That way, no one thinks of your
performance as a reflection of your true abilities. The psychological effects linked to
procrastination and laziness may be deeply embedded in each individuals mind, each unique and
diversely scrambled. Sometimes it is even possible to be ignorant of these effects.

Although, our societys infrastructure, technology, and efficiency has tremendously

advanced over the course of the years, laziness, it seems, has been on the rise. From medical,
psychological, and theological standpoints, laziness seems to have no benefit whatsoever to our
wellbeing. It is only a problem because it is so easy to do. If and when society decides to tackle
this issue, it will have to be a Unitarian effort.

Bibliography
-Burton, N., M.D. (2014, October/November). The Psychology of Laziness The psychology of
laziness, procrastination, and idleness. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hide-and-seek/201410/the-psychology-laziness
-Lebowitz, S. (2015, July 22). You aren't just lazy these 7 psychological theories explain why
you procrastinate. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/psychological-reasons-youprocrastinate-2015-7
-Wellman, J. (2015, January 31). Top 7 Bible Verses About Laziness. Retrieved from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/01/31/top-7-bible-verses-about-laziness/
-Roberts, M. D., Brown, J. D., Company, J. M., Oberle, L. P., Heese, A. J., Toedebusch, R.
G., . . . Booth, F. W. (2013). Phenotypic and molecular differences between rats selectively bred
to voluntarily run high vs. low nightly distances. American Journal of Physiology, 304. Retrieved
from http://ajpregu.physiology.org/content/304/11/R1024