[Robert Urbanek]

Automation and, to some extent, AI, supposedly liberate humans from mind-numbing repetitive tasks and free us to do more creative and challenging work. But we may be losing something when we lose repetition.

Repetition in the form of mantras or prayer beads can be a pathway to meditation. For thousands of years, humans have been engaged in repetitive labor, whether in agriculture, crafts or even the modern assembly line. One of the oldest forms of manufacturing, weaving, is an exercise in repetition. Is it not possible that such repetition creates a meditative state that calms the soul?

People deprived of repetitive labor may seek it out in their leisure time. One of the most popular forms of gambling, the slot machine, is a cycle of repetition; the gambler is paying to attain the meditative high that comes with the “mindless” repetition of pulling on the slot machine arm and watching the wheels turn.

True, there are probably people at the far end of the extrovert scale who are miserable if forced into any form of focused, repetitive work. But for others, repetitive tasks may help them “find their groove.”