In praise of sitting in silence

If you know Seinfeld , you may remember the episode "The Butter Shave," where Puddy spends a long flight simply staring at the seat in front of him. Elaine cannot understand it. "Do you want something to read?" she asks. Puddy replies, "No, I'm good." The joke is that Puddy seems vacant, as if only a dull person could sit there without reaching for a book, a screen, or some other distraction. But…