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While I'm here (and in a chatty mood) I thought I'd also pass on a link to an article from the August/September 2008 issue of Scientific American Mind, which Aybala showed me today. It's called "Depressingly Easy," and here's a brief overview:

• Rates of depression have risen in recent decades, at the same time that people are enjoying time-saving conveniences such as microwave ovens, e-mail, prepared meals, and machines for washing clothes and mowing lawns.
• People of earlier generations, whose lives were characterized by greater efforts just to survive, para­dox­ically, were mentally healthier. Human ancestors also evolved in conditions where hard physical work was nece­ssary to thrive.
• By denying our brains the rewards that come from ­anticipating and executing complex tasks with our hands, the author argues, we undercut our mental well-being.