'Doing Nothing for 2 Minutes' Is Harder Than It Sounds

by Amar Toor on January 26, 2011 at 03:15 PM

A new site called Do Nothing for 2 Minutes challenges visitors to do exactly what it says -- absolutely nothing. Created by PopJam CEO Alex Tew and developer Ben Dowling, the page features an appropriately ascetic layout. Users are asked to sit in front of a seaside photograph, listen to the sound of waves crashing against the shore, and that's about it. A timer at the top of the page counts down from two minutes, but, if you touch your mouse before the time is up, the timer will reset, and the page will remind you that you've failed. Though there's no way for the site to keep you from playing around on your iPhone or tablet, not touching your computer for two whole minutes is still harder than it sounds -- especially if you spend a good chunk of your day in front of it.

Tew, who launched the Million Dollar Homepage back in 2006, said he created DNF2M in the hopes of giving our brains a break from the relentless flow of information to which the Web subjects us every day. "I had been thinking how we spend every waking minute of the day with access to an unlimited supply of information, to the point of information overload," Tew told TechCrunch. Tew added that his site, in a Taoist twist, may even help us be more productive, by forcing us to do nothing. "I also read somewhere that there is evidence that our brains are being re-wired by the Internet, because we get a little dopamine kick every time we check our e-mail or Twitter or Facebook and there's a new update," he said. "So we're all developing a bit of ADD, which is probably not great in terms of being productive."

Were you able to do nothing for 2 minutes?
Yes	15196 (89.3%)
No	1826 (10.7%)

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=607274&pid=607273&uts=1296088457

http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf

Top Optical Illusions on the Web

Most of you have looked and/or fretted over optical illusions at some point in your life. A select few have even had a sleepless night over particularly difficult ones. They come in all shapes and sizes and colors. Double meanings, motion-induced blindness, and mind bending perspective distortion just to name a few. Here, we have compiled a list of some of our favorite illusions on the Web. Some are simple and thought provoking. Others, well, they just make you thankful that you are sitting down. Now take a break and blow your mind.

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How Many F's
We got this wrong the first time and we aren't ashamed to admit it. We hope you have better luck. Count how many F's there are in the illusion. We doubt you will get it right, but we wish you the best. Honestly.
From: echalk

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Mona Lisa
The most famous face in the world gets turned on her head....literally. Activate the pictures and watch da Vinci's famous muse transform. The simplicity of this illusion is what grabbed our attention. Well, that and it involves the Mona-freakin-Lisa.
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Face/Candlestick Illusion
This is an image of two people about to make out. Or, it's a nice all-white candlestick. If you're a people person, you're likely to think it's the former, whereas aesthetically-minded domestic types will want to see an inanimate object perfect for the dinner table. Either way, those folks sure have big foreheads and that candlestick hold sure is awfully wide!

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Terror Subterannea
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Elephant Legs
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Creepy Almonds
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From: OneDigitalLife

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Stripes
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From: Blogoscoped

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Horizontal Line Illusion
This is a classic and it is almost impossible to get perfectly right. Try it multiple times if you wish. That would kind of be like cheating, but if it makes you feel better, go ahead. You are going to do it more than once aren't you?
From: MichaelBach

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I am bored.com trippy
If you have a strong stomach and a minute to kill, this is the best of the bunch. Stare at the screen for the designated amount of time, and then look away. It's a like it's the 1960s all over again. If that reference is lost on you, well, just make sure you are sitting down when you try this.
From: i-am-bored

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Tags: AlexTew, challenge, DoNothingFor2Minutes, InformationOverload, InternetAddiction, MillionDollarHomepage, popjam, productivity, top, Web

via: Atlantic
source: TechCrunch

Comments

dylan5000Jan 26th 2011 9:22PM

Neutral

i failed after a second when i turned the volume up

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QuintJan 26th 2011 10:59PM

Neutral

The site..when keyboard or mouse not touched, stops at 1:42. Every time at 1:42. A failsafe that the fail will fail.

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Randy HamesJan 27th 2011 10:19AM

Neutral

All you have to do is turn your mind off completely. It's a lot like listening to a really short Celine Dion song.

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luc mizellJan 27th 2011 12:28AM

Neutral

Is this a joke. I do nothing for about 8 hours every night. Ridiculous!

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MollyJan 27th 2011 1:57AM

Neutral

It took me 2 times only because my dog jumped up on the couch which caused mouse to fall off. The second time it worked perfectly. Did breathing exercises while listening to the ocean waves. AND ALL THIS COMING FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS ADHD. I am going to start using this regularly. Bravo Alexand Drew, well done!.

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tailsratsJan 27th 2011 1:59AM

Neutral

The first time I had to click on the new tab to see it, but the 2nd time it took effect. Calming

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MandyJan 27th 2011 2:44AM

Neutral

I didn't touch anything near my computer and it continued to fail. I thought that somehow I was moving my netbook and tripping it, but when I moved it intentionally it didn't affect the timer. It counted down to 6 seconds and said I failed.

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GSFUJan 27th 2011 9:05AM

Neutral

With enough pot, anyone can do nothing for 2 minutes. :D

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haha?Jan 27th 2011 5:18AM

Neutral

Failed me every 10 seconds and it wasn't ever my fault, I touched absolutely nothing.

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SimbiAniJan 27th 2011 1:09PM

Neutral

That was nice. But I already do it every now & then with OnDemand HD Screensavers, especially since my HDTV *is* my monitor & I use earphones, it's very relaxing to just be able to sit back & listen to certain scenic scapes for just a few minutes every once in a while.. I love it! XD - @SimbiAni on Twitter

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