Boring and Interesting are Not Direct Opposites

It seems intuitive that the opposite of interesting is boring or vice versa. However, the truth is that is not quite the case.

For example, a boring movie is one in which nothing really happens. A movie such as this would be unlikely to hold the viewer’s attention. A movie does not necessarily however need to be boring to lose the viewer’s attention; it can have plenty going on, yet still be uninteresting enough that the viewer’s mind starts to wander. Some (all too-)common examples of non-boring, but entirely uninteresting tropes frequently used in movies include car-chases, shoot-outs, sex-scenes, and

(This is the case at this very moment, as I type this. I am trying to watch a movie, which I would hardly call “boring”, yet I keep pausing to do other things because it just can’t hold my attention like some of the others movies I’ve watched recently. I should have been done two hours ago, but I still have 30 mins. left. I should get back to it now, or else I’ll never finish…)