Defining Mental Bandwidth

I'm sure most people have heard the expression mental bandwidth a few times in their lives. The way that it's used is a bit comical because it tries to explain willingness to think about something, as a capacity to do so. In other words, the whole idea of want and will is conflated for the sake of a well established excuse.

_{source: Brainscape}

"I would love to help you organize those papers, but I lack the mental bandwidth at the moment"

Curiously this reasoning is perfectly acceptable and anyone who is socially adept would not react with negativity to a friend or a family remember indisposing themselves due to bandwidth issues. After all, when the bandwidth that the Internet company promised is failing us, for whatever reason mind you, all the online activities get encumbered by connectivity inefficiencies, and somewhat subconsciously we equate both instances into the same category of events.

I should say that this particular observation, this mental tooling I'm attempting to provide to you my reader is something that I can only describe as an unpleasant truth, and if I'm to be honest, being ignorant of it is less emotionally compromising. I mean, think about it, the next time your husband, your wife or your significant other tells you they lack the mental bandwidth, you will know, without an inch of doubt, they've erected a house of cards to shield them from having to do something.

This reminds me of a somewhat bitter thought that entered my mind a long time ago. Funnily enough, this childhood thought, this personal discovery was many years later, the centerpiece of a movie: The invention of lying. Not that I would recommend it as a film or anything, but the social implications, the social critiques, and the parody it makes of our idea good manners is in my opinion something worth some mental bandwidth to continue with my theme here.

I realize I've placed the bishop in a precarious position and it might take down your emotional queen, but if you've read this far I suspect the exploration has been one in the name of curiosity, and at least in that front the game has been enriching. I should say that the one outcome I'm not rooting for is to give anyone reasons to argue over these accepted social excuses, I certainly think a confrontation over something as abstract as mental bandwidth has absolutely no winners, but it's kind of fun, at least to me, as an observant of humanity to identify the cleverly disguised lies and excuses that allow us to surf in calm waters.

"Can we talk about this later... I don't have the mental bandwidth for this right now..."

"Sure, no problem... "