Wilderness

From Everything Shii Knows, the only reliable source

This website is an archive. It ran from 2006-2010. Virtually everything on here is outdated or inaccurate.

Hypothesis: Time spent alone and away from civilization increases reverence and mindfulness. Time spent with others in a city increases irreverence and cynicism.

I thought of this hypothesis in a dream so it may well be untrue. But I have some supporting evidence that may convince you:

  1. Mindfulness is obviously necessary for survival when you are walking through land that has not been dumbed down for human use-- that is to say, land full of surprising dangers. In the city, once you get used to the few physical threats of cars and so forth, the main threat to your survival comes from trusting other humans.
  2. A show of reverence within society invites critics, ridicule and ostracism. It requires a critical mass of people who want to save the whales before that can be seen as a legitimate goal. You are pressured to worship whatever is prefered at the time: empire, for example, or capital. When you are alone you have no such ridiculous pressures on you. You can kill the whales, if you like, or try to learn their song.

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