mental masturbation
Fruitless deep pondering
Mental masturbation is self-indulgent intellectual activity that produces satisfaction but no practical result.
The term dismisses ideas, discussions, or analysis as pleasurable only to the person engaged in them: That philosophy seminar was pure mental masturbation.
It implies someone is more interested in showing off their thinking than in reaching useful conclusions.
- mindwanderingUnfocused mental drifting
- woolgatheringAbsent-minded indulgence in fantasy
- pontificationOpinionated lengthy speech
- blue-sky thinkingUnrestricted creative brainstorming
- pie in the skyUnrealistic hope or plan
sophistry · overanalysis · theorizing · navel-gazing · chin stroking · daydream · speculation · philosophizing · hair-splitting · rumination · paralysis by analysis · conjecture · solipsism · pedantry · idealism · nitpicking · self-absorption · abstraction
mental masturbationpractical application
Real-world employment of knowledge
praxis · action · implementation · getting things done · applied science
mental masturbationcommunity service
Unpaid labor benefiting society
public engagement · activism · applied ethics · civic participation · teaching
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