I love nature. But one thing I am forced to admit about nature is that many of the things that make nature pleasant in practice are actually very artificial: * Clothing and equipment * Public toilets at most 1km away in city parks * Paths, trails, roads * Dangerous animals removed * Lots of active maintenance
Nature is great. But pure "nature" is pooping in the forest with nothing to wash your hands, then fighting off a bear and then tripping over a branch and getting a wound, and three days later realizing you have a serious infection.
interesting take V, just go barefeet and connect with the earth
There’s some out-there nature (e.g. Kobuk Valley in Alaska) that removes some of this artificialness. Still need clothing and survival equipment though. Hard to enjoy nature without the first bullet.
Interesting perspective. Years ago, I took part in a survival course led by former special ops who fought in Afghanistan. And we were like, "Okay, let's get to the middle of the forest with just a knife." And he just laughed, saying, "Guys, at least 50% of survival success depends on the stuff you take with yourself."
💜 Pure nature is understandings that human development is variable and changing.
this is true as long as we view nature as just a thing that's there to serve and entertain us
Michael Pollan talks about this in one of his earlier books, "Second Nature". V interesting
If you are not aware of Werner Herzog, you might like his films: https://youtu.be/3xQyQnXrLb0
Nature = Bitcoin | Artificial = Ethereum ? :)
The reality show Alone makes this point very clear.
tbh, I do not agree with some parts of it. Embracing nature will save mankind. The moment it is gone, everything would be artificial. Compare it with a human, if try to tame it becomes aggressive & sometimes even deadly.
Which one of these most affects the experience? I’m thinking removal of predators, but making hiking naked mandatory would be pretty entertaining too.
The etymology of wilderness anchors back to "lair of the beast" The etymology of paradise anchors back to "walled enclosure"
I thought this was going to be a treatise on bbl’s
Certainly! Yet, with the appropriate safety/survival precautions… I’d say that nature can be considered our north star in a prescriptive sense for many of the things which plague modern humans (stress, anxiety, depression, weakness, disconnect) — it’s pretty incredible what a night of camping does for the spiri
Yes, most of the universe is impossible to experience directly and unequipped.
“In the first place you can't see anything from a car; you've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over the sandstone and through the thornbush and cactus. When traces of blood begin to mark your trail you'll begin to see something, maybe. Probably not.” - Ed A
Sounds very obvious but surprisingly never thought of this. I guess most enjoy our perceived reality of nature, i.e. the one we manufactured to be comfortable
Makes sense. The "wild" becomes attractive, pleasant & romantic only after we tame, control and "de-wild" it. People that really live close to nature won't associate with it the pleasantness we do. Majestic - yes, awful (as in - inspiring awe) - yes. But "pleasant" isn't a good word here.
Sounds very obvious but surprisingly never thought of this. I guess most enjoy our perceived reality of nature, i.e. the one we manufactured to be comfortable
Interesting. Some of our emotional dislike for pure nature comes from having grown up in artificial and sanitary conditions. Arguably, our intelligence comes in the way of enjoying pure nature— we’re too aware of what’s going on. Did the Homo Erectus, for example, mind pure nature as much as we do?
Dosed nature without much human intrusion while keeping civilisation comforts is super nice
I also like the framing that human cities are a part of nature just like ant hills and beaver dams. 😊
Portage camping in Canada is a bit less like this. Pictured below is a typical “thunderbox”..
I like being in nature without most of those pleasantries - makes it even more awe-inspiring.
I agree with your assessment of nature as wilderness and the advantages to moving away from it. I would also say that nature has a larger definition, as in nature is also what we cannot see. In terms of consciousness the nature of reality is yet to be explored.
But that’s the point is it not? The greater the isolation and exposure, the greater the vulnerability, the more awareness you gain for your surroundings and the more gratitude you feel for daily life. No feeling quite like reaching the car after a 5 day backpacking trip 🙌
Here's a pic so you never have to venture out into such dangers ser...
