...Until recently, scientists would have found little of interest in the purposeless, mind-wandering spaces between Mrazek's conscious breakfast-making tasks -- they were just the brain idling between meaningful activity.

But in the span of a few short years, they have instead come to view mental leisure as important, purposeful work -- work that relies on a powerful and far-flung network of brain cells firing in unison.

Neuroscientists call it the "default mode network."

via Idlebrain | Minding the gaps - Los Angeles Times.