Intellectual fascination is an alternative to travel. When outward movement, for some reason, is impossible, then you can move inward. After all, it is impossible to close internal roads. Well, once upon a time, when books were only printed, there were few of them, and they could be destroyed by fire, this path could be closed from the outside, but now not anymore. Well, unless dementia can become an obstacle to intellectual pursuits. And, on the other hand, it protects from it. A fact known to neurophysiologists (J. Arden “Taming the Amygdala”), intellectual activity is the prevention of dementia. That is, the more you use your brain, the better it works. So it is not only pleasant, but also useful in the long term. Pleasant too, from a physiological point of view. The neurotransmitter dopamine is associated with high intelligence and solving complex problems, and indeed with cognitive abilities in general. And dopamine is about motivation, dreams, inspiration and pleasure. And even about sexuality, it’s not for nothing that they say that the brain is the sexiest part of the body. Any such cheerful pleasure is dopamine. As opposed to the quiet, calm joy associated with serotonin. The pleasure of eating is about serotonin, and “conquering Everest” and “getting fired up by a dream” is about dopamine. That's how many facets are hidden behind immersion in intellectual activity. The intellectual attracts the intellectual. Therefore, in addition to pleasantly useful escapism, it can also contribute to communication and the formation of an interesting social circle. And not just intellectual, but similar in interests and values. It turns out interesting here. Involvement in the intellectual, on the one hand, is like a kind of hermitism. A person immersed in a book is, as it were, detached from what surrounds him. And this is generally a good distraction if you don’t really want to look at your surroundings. On the other hand, this can also bring him closer to other people based on his interests. Interests that help you find your social circle “on your own wavelength.” It’s good to immerse yourself in the intellectual when you don’t really want to look around. After all, if there is something cool around: summer, sea, sun, holiday, all that... Then there’s no time for a book, right? And when everything around you is gray, cold, dull, boring, disgusting... Now is the time to read about something beautiful and exciting. And then discuss it with someone else to make it even more interesting.