Every morning, I spend an hour on the computer, writing a blog post and checking e-mail.
Then I go to work for eight hours. Generally, I spend six of those hours at my desk, on the computer.
In the evening, I work on the AI for an hour and a half, and spend at least another half hour writing my journal and doing other little things.
If I’m lucky, I get an hour in there somewhere to read a book, or sometimes watch a little TV.
That’s 10 hours a day. I spend over half my waking life staring at rectangles.
The thing is, I don’t regret it. Work pays the bills. The AI is the project I’m most excited about. I love reading; I’d never give it up. And writing the blog is a way to channel and structure the mess of thoughts bouncing around my head.
I spend most of my time staring at rectangles, and I like it. What the hell? What does that mean? How do I make sense of a fact so utterly bizarre?
Actually, I think I know the answer. It’s like cells in the body. (Stay with me here.)
Lone single-celled organisms, like amoebas, have to survive on their own. They’re responsible for everything: finding food, avoiding danger, navigating obstacles. They have to be, because no other cells are helping them out.
Cells in the human body are different. They’re part of a system, so they don’t have to do everything alone. They specialize. A neuron, for example, doesn’t worry about chasing down nutrients or dodging enemy bacteria. It just does its thing, sending and receiving signals, 24/7. Other cells fill other needs. No single cell has to do everything, and the overall system is vastly more capable than the sum of its parts.
The body is like society, and I’m like a neuron – or a skin cell, or anything else you want to pick. I couldn’t survive in the wild on my own, and I don’t have to, because I’m part of a system. I’ve specialized. I’m good at working in a particular environment, and (judging by the paychecks) society needs that.
Is it weird to spend most of your time looking at rectangles? Of course. But no weirder than anything else.
How much time do you spend rectangle-gazing, and how do you feel about it?
January 23rd, 2013 at 7:48 am
I’m staring at a rectangle right now, and will be for the next eight hours. As I type the rectangle of your comment box gets bigger. I’m surrounded by rectangles containing disks at home, or thinly sliced rectangles bound together as one. That’s why you need more fractals in your life. The Mandelbrot set is not a rectangle
Seriously, I liked your cellular analogy though I think many in today’s society are less willing to accept they are part of a whole.
January 23rd, 2013 at 9:43 am
Yep, fractals are great. Just as long as nobody tries to contain them inside a bunch of rectangles – OH NOOOOOOOOOO
January 25th, 2013 at 12:08 pm
Thanks for reminding me to get up and stretch, arms, wrists, shoulders. Ahhh, all those cells who work tirelessly and without discrimination for my benefit are happy to get a little stress reduction. If only my mind could have the wisdom of one little cell. That’s my angle, enjoying this wonderful present moment.
January 25th, 2013 at 9:25 pm
I could use a little more get-up-and-stretch time myself during the day.
January 25th, 2013 at 12:10 pm
I look at them all day, or through them, or walk in to them, or sleep in one. I can’t escape rectangles. So 24/7/365
Guess I need a little change. My next home will be an geo-dome. 
January 25th, 2013 at 9:26 pm
At least sleeping in a rectangle gives the eyes a break, no?
January 25th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
I, like you, usually spend several hours a day ‘rectangle-gazing’.
I feel like it’s easy to get caught up in the web of rectangles our lives require and when I finally disengage, jump in the snow, lie back and look up at the silent snow-covered trees, I feel like THIS is what I should be doing.
But then it gets cold, I go back inside, pull out the rectangles and forget…
January 25th, 2013 at 9:26 pm
I suppose it’s a balance, like most anything else. You don’t want to overdo it with the rectangles, but you can’t quite get rid of them, either…
January 25th, 2013 at 12:55 pm
Brian, this is great. I spend many hours of my day “rectangle-gazing”. Most of the time, I feel just fine about my hours spent with rectangle friends. I know what to expect from rectangles.
January 25th, 2013 at 9:27 pm
Thanks Natalie.
January 25th, 2013 at 1:12 pm
Staring at rectangles can me some of the times tiresome though!
January 25th, 2013 at 9:27 pm
Preaching to the choir…
January 25th, 2013 at 2:58 pm
Every time my laptop gets shut, either the tv turns on, my phone comes out, or I turn to my Kindle. You kill one of them and another springs up. They’re like tribbles.
January 25th, 2013 at 9:27 pm
Troublesome little creatures, no?
January 25th, 2013 at 3:22 pm
The more rectangles I stare at the more numb I become, that is why I venture outside just to sit and stare at clouds, lizards, flowers, or just dance in my head. Anything to get me away from the tempting rectangles. try my blog, it is very motivational and inspiring and yeah, a lot of love too! I really, really love your connection with cells!!!! I study such subjects. I have my own issues since I am a little autistic. Much of the time is: “does not compute” then later …. a feeling will arise and i wont remember from what! I love to stay oblivious. it is a wonderful place to be!!!
January 25th, 2013 at 9:28 pm
January 29th, 2013 at 2:21 pm
thank you for thanking me!! I hope you have a lot of happiness in your life, you deserve it!!!
January 25th, 2013 at 3:47 pm
I never really thought of it that way, but I do the same. It seems that our world is obsessed with rectangles. I wonder how many successful products are partly successful because they are rectangles. For example, strange shaped cell phones don’t sell too well (the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy both reign supreme now).
January 25th, 2013 at 9:29 pm
I suppose ENIAC was the original rectangle. In a way, not much has changed…
January 25th, 2013 at 8:08 pm
I too stare at rectangles most of my day. And I am happy with that. But I often crave more beautiful and messy shapes. And then I get outside and look around
January 25th, 2013 at 9:30 pm
Outside. I’ve heard rumors of such a place…
January 25th, 2013 at 8:09 pm
Not even one rectangle, but a group of them – assorted, arranged in their owned spaces, making up the aggregate table. I copy the whole mess into a clipboard – an intangible rectangle of memory somewhere (that in itself, contiguous cells, also squares) – and paste it into a rectangular Outlook window and click a rectangular button marked “Send.” Comparatively, the circle invites dynamism, challenges our action-nerves. Rectangles? Our analytic fibers. A silent, challenging elegance, more crafted than organic.
January 25th, 2013 at 9:32 pm
For sheer rectangular extravagance, why not take the extra leap and jump into databases? Rectangular cells inside rows inside tables inside rectangular servers in a room somewhere…
January 26th, 2013 at 12:16 am
They don’t trust me with it. Hehe.
January 25th, 2013 at 10:18 pm
Although my rectangle time is not QUITE as extensive as your own, I do my fair share and I’ve discovered a little trick to make that time just that much more enjoyable. I found that, no matter how wacky it may sound, if you get up, walk around, and start smelling stuff, your energy level and enthusiasm meter suddenly go through the roof. There is something about getting up, walking to the window, and smelling the curtains or a grapefruit that shoves some spunk back into your day. I challenge you to try it next time you are spending time with quadrilaterals, and it may just bring in a whole new level of enjoyability during your rectangle time
January 26th, 2013 at 7:11 am
I do the get-up-and-walk-around thing, but I’ve not thought of – er – smelling things. I’m willing to try wacky ideas, though. I’ll give it a shot next time I think about it. Thanks!
January 26th, 2013 at 12:22 am
Reblogged this on jaygousse's Blog and commented:
Fantastic correlation
January 26th, 2013 at 5:04 am
I love all your posts, very informational.
January 26th, 2013 at 5:04 am
I now wonder what a triangular computer screen would look like… I will test it out by cutting the cover off a book first.
January 26th, 2013 at 7:14 am
NOOOOOO not the book cover!! Haha.
January 26th, 2013 at 10:27 pm
It was so hard to do with plastic scissors let me tell you.
January 26th, 2013 at 5:09 am
I never thought a rectangle could mean so much.
Brilliant though.
January 26th, 2013 at 7:15 am
Thanks!
January 26th, 2013 at 7:15 am
It hasn’t escaped my notice that a generation (I’m 30 yrs older than you) raised to not sit too close to the TV now spends our entire lives glued to a a frigging screen barely inches from our faces. Getting outside into nature — barely a rectangle in sight — helps a lot. So does making sure the design of your home (lamps, tables, chairs, etc) add in some gentle circles and curves.
Great post!
January 26th, 2013 at 10:05 am
When my husband was designing buildings, he always wanted to extend rectangles into the landscape. But as the gardener in the family, I insisted on softer shapes for outdoor spaces. When it comes to raised vegetable beds, of course, the rectangle always wins.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:33 am
Thanks!
January 26th, 2013 at 12:35 pm
I’m in University and so a large part of my day is staring at projected screens, boards, or computers. We’ll say that’s 4 hours a day, then two hours of my job are usually staring at a screen and then another 2 when I come home to update my blog and sites. 8 hours. Yeesh!
I’m not sure how i feel about it…I love being actively engaged with people face to face and to explore my surrounding myself…touch, smell etc. and a computer completely robs me of these experiences BUT at the same time the computer is the source of much of my inspiration that drives me to explore the world more and to interact with people…so win win?
That puts it into perspective! ( P.S. loved the rectangle view point)
http://choosesimplicitydotorg.wordpress.com/
January 27th, 2013 at 8:28 am
Thanks!
January 26th, 2013 at 12:42 pm
I spend way too long staring at this particular rectangle. Much, much too long. As a consequence my neck seems to have a mind of its own (I’ve been browing your blog – that looks like a topic that’s missing, maybe the only one!) and sort of keeps sloping off in a rectangle-leaning direction, even when I’m not looking at the rectangle.
By the way, if we sat in the recommended position for rectangle-staring, for the amount of time we normally rectangle-staring people stare at rectangles, our bodies would become right angles.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:28 am
Hah, yeah, the picture at the top was a decoration, not a suggestion.
January 26th, 2013 at 7:24 pm
on a slightly different note. At one time in my life I was doing about five hours per day of clarinet practise. What I was actually doing was blowing through a cylinder shaped object with a beak at one end.
Walking would take you away from your rectangle. There are less rectangles down by the river. I think if tyou were a writer spending large chunks of time staring at a rectangle you would wonder if grass were greener on the other side. What would it be like to grab a shopping trolley and go for a good long walk around australia for say seven years. You would be going against the grain a bit.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:26 am
Walking is a good cure for a surprising number of ailments. Something about it just clears the mind, doesn’t it?
January 27th, 2013 at 1:31 am
LOL..well even I face recaqtangles whole time a day coz I will be in front of either my lap or my pc in the morning half and in front of my tv in the evening half
..(as I have just finished my graduation and is working my way to post graduation)..As I have my parents working for me (with God’s grace) I don’t need to worry about my money part..only that I feel, 24 hours is not enough in a day to spent in front of the rectangles 
January 27th, 2013 at 7:31 am
I spend all day everyday for work and at home staring at rectangles! Thanks for reminding me to leave the rectangles for a while, but the growing intergration in society makes it almost impossible to avoid the little rectangles !
January 27th, 2013 at 8:24 am
Agreed. Heck, our whole conversation about avoiding rectangles is only possible because we have them.
January 28th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
Very true !
January 27th, 2013 at 9:10 am
I say it proudly.
I love staring at rectangles.
I love the visual facade shielding me from the course texture of reality.
I say it proudly.
Stephenis
January 27th, 2013 at 10:27 am
I love it. But I hate it. And I know we have a very difficult relationship. Love hate yearn.
January 27th, 2013 at 12:44 pm
I have mixed feelings about it, I think its sad we do it when we could actually be talking to one another. And when we’re in the office and you get an e-mail from someone two desks away. But i also do creative work so i need to use my computer. And i love my work.
January 27th, 2013 at 1:39 pm
It’s a bizarre balance, isn’t it? Deeply sad yet somehow deeply wonderful. I guess anything with power ends up that way eventually.
January 27th, 2013 at 4:10 pm
The only rectangles I like to look at are paper ones… Sadly, like yourself, I dont get enough time…. Its hard practising origami on a tablet.
January 27th, 2013 at 9:18 pm
Reblogged this on lisalove slimming and commented:
Learning for this !!!! Health life.
January 28th, 2013 at 12:04 am
my mouth was wide open like a really big rectangle after reading your blog!
January 28th, 2013 at 5:14 am
Haha, thanks!
January 28th, 2013 at 4:27 am
8-9 hours per day an it’s tiring…
January 28th, 2013 at 5:14 am
I know the feeling…
January 29th, 2013 at 12:47 am
i know i’m not alone…
January 28th, 2013 at 6:01 am
Now that you mention it… A lot of laptop screen, probably as much book and magazine reading and a little TV watching, most of my day! But it’s interlaced with walking in nature, spending time with pets (faaaar from rectangular!) and of course my cooking pots are round.
Just gotto eat lotsa carrots to keep on doing what we love (such as reading) for a long time to come…
January 28th, 2013 at 6:04 am
P.S. Your surname just ‘registered’ after having sounded vaguely familiar. The ‘vaguely’ is weird because I listen to Tim Buckley very often (hooked, I’m afraid).
January 28th, 2013 at 4:52 pm
Haha…I once got a book as a Christmas present because it was dedicated to William F. Buckley.
January 28th, 2013 at 10:36 am
Congrats on the FP
You earned it! This short post is great. It’s pretty unusual to hear a defense of rectangle-staring, rather than some kind of “longing for the old days of hunter-gatherers” moan about it 
I, personally, love my screen and book time, and want more of my life to be about that. lol 
January 28th, 2013 at 4:53 pm
Thanks
January 29th, 2013 at 6:13 am
I spend all day staring at squares, I worry it’s affecting my health, and when I went to get my eyes tested they confirm, yes my vision was shortening due to the amount of time I spend looking at a screen. I know after staring at a screen all day I should come home and look at stunning vistas, but b’ton suburbia doesn’t come with vistas, just a view of the neighbours bedroom, so screens it is.
January 29th, 2013 at 7:41 am
This is worth sharing!
January 29th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Reblogged this on Oyia Brown.
January 29th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
I completely agree that humans are so societal in nature that we can easily be compared to cells in an organism. Great post.
January 29th, 2013 at 1:40 pm
it feels like every second you will find that shape….but what about lines? impossible!
January 29th, 2013 at 1:40 pm
Reblogged this on ttd/photography and commented:
very very true
January 29th, 2013 at 3:17 pm
I spend almost 12 hours working in computer. I don’t even notice that I would reached that hours by just making blogs and exchanging perspective! Tired but worth it. Thanks for sharing.This is an interesting post and worth the read!
January 29th, 2013 at 4:44 pm
Thanks Jim!
January 30th, 2013 at 11:00 am
You’re Welcome.
January 31st, 2013 at 9:44 am
Reblogged this on C-Suite Mentor©™.
January 31st, 2013 at 3:58 pm
I stare at rectangles way more often than I need to and I think I do it to avoid thinking about how often I do it. Nasty cycle, it is.
February 1st, 2013 at 10:04 pm
I love this post! Of course, that’s because I hate rectangles in general. Hence the name of my WordPress blog – Ranting About Rectangles! You might enjoy the “how the blog got started” post. If I had thought about it, I would have included cells and how they work together – it seems so much more natural than cubicles, doesn’t it?
February 2nd, 2013 at 11:29 am
congratulations on featured in Freshly pressed.
February 2nd, 2013 at 12:35 pm
I’m a professional writer so I also spend a lot of time staring at rectangles. Not just the rectangle of my computer screen, but the angles and juxtapositions of interpersonal relationships. I admit it’s fascinating, and I like how you talked about one aspect of that in this post. Good job.
February 2nd, 2013 at 7:57 pm
Reblogged this on Code Stands and commented:
well its going to be lives,..anyway
February 4th, 2013 at 5:07 am
Rectangles of all sort became a big an important part of our everyday life, we rely on them in almost every task we are trying to achieve, at some point we became addicted to it to a point were getting the rectangle out of our sight for sometime get us in the mood of being lost.
I’d like to see it as a sword with a double edge blade.
Great article I must say, highlighting and important fact related to virtually all of us.
February 4th, 2013 at 6:10 am
Thanks Salim.
I don’t know why WordPress marked your comment as spam originally, but it’s fixed now!
March 20th, 2013 at 9:03 pm
That was unexpectedly useful and it has given me
a excellent idea to publish a new post on my blog.
Also, what host do you use? Your blog seems incredibly smooth and mine is awful to load.
Thx!
March 21st, 2013 at 5:57 am
Hi Kerstin. I just use the free hosting on WordPress.com.