Just say no – to boredom

And nobody was bored during the ‘32 Fainting Spells’ trio of Chekhov comedies. After all, it is not just the case that we don’t like or want to get bored, but we no longer even know how to be bored. We now live in an impatient, multi-tasking world. If we go to the shopping centre, we don’t just want to do our shopping and grab something to eat to save time, but we also visit such places to go to the cinema and or have a chat with friends. And if we see an exhibition of the work of a world-class photographer on the way to the toilet, we can even satisfy the need to engage with high culture. Although there is something slightly sarcastic in saying this, this does also contain a germ of truth, because we have become much more demanding of the real world outside the internet compared to a few years ago. Traditional museums have now been transformed into science centres, where you can touch, check out and experiment to your heart’s content – as we describe in the ‘Age of Science’ article. Meanwhile, in ‘Back to Retail Roots’, we write about the changing functions of shopping centres, for which history has now come full circle. Sociologist Grzegorz Makowski reminds us that in British department stores in the past women’s clubs were set up, concerts and exhibitions held, and reading rooms and post offices opened. How should developers fight their corner in such an environment? Find out on the pages of this magazine. We refer to more recent history in our festive feature, in which real estate market personalities share their childhood Christmas photographs. And while we are on the subject of Christmas, on behalf of our editorial team I would like to wish you the most exceptional, wonderful Christmas that you could ever have dreamt of. And may the year to come be far from boring!