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The Wisdom of Psychopaths
In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a...
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I love spending time outside. From wild places like the backcountry of the Sierra Nevada mountains, to the mundane nature in my back yard, I find comfort in my natural experiences. These places are restful. Peaceful. They restore my batteries, and help me to focus. And I am not alone in these experiences. People around the world seek out natural experiences. Even when confined to built spaces, we add pets, plants, pictures, and momentos from nature. It is part of who we are, and these experiences in nature help us reflect on what is important in life.
The benefits of spending time in nature have been well-documented. Psychological research has shown that natural experiences help to reduce stress, improve mood, and promote an overall increase in physical and psychological well-being. There is even evidence that hospital patients with a view of nature recover faster than do hospital patients without such a view. This line of research provides clear evidence that people are drawn to nature with good reason. It has restorative properties.
But a recent article by researchers at the University of Rochester shows that experiences with nature can affect more than our mood. In a series of studies, Netta Weinstein, Andrew Przybylski, and Richard Ryan, University of Rochester, show that exposure to nature can affect our priorities and alter what we think is important in life. In short, we become less self-focused and more other-focused. Our value priorities shift from personal gain, to a broader focus on community and connection with others.
To demonstrate this effect, they ran a series of studies. In their first study, the researchers randomly assigned individuals to view a slide show that either depicted scenes of human-made or natural environments. The slides were matched across a variety of characteristics, to eliminate the possibility that the results were due to things like color, complexity, or brightness of the images. The participants were instructed to try to immerse themselves in the images—to notice the colors and textures and imagine the sounds and smells. After watching the slide show (which took about 8 minutes), the participants completed a series of questions about their life aspirations.
Of particular interest were responses to extrinsic life aspirations , like being financially successful or admired by many people; as contrasted with intrinsic life aspirations , like deep and enduring relationships, or working toward the betterment of society. The results showed that people who watched the nature images scored significantly lower on extrinsic life aspirations, and significantly higher on intrinsic life aspirations. The effect was particularly strong for participants who reported being “immersed” in the images. This basic effect was further explored in three subsequent studies. The later studies showed the same effect for true nature experiences: being in a small room with plants, for example.
These results are part of a growing body of evidence showing the powerful effect of natural experiences. And, for people like me who enjoy spending time in nature, the results are encouraging. However, when viewed within a larger societal context, the results also provide an intriguing perspective on some noted shifts in the values and priorities or Americans over the past 40 years.
People living in the United States are spending much less time outdoors today than ever before. Data from a variety of sources show that on average, Americans are spending less time outdoors today than they did 30 or even 20 years ago. Children tend to spend more time outside than do adults, but that number too is declining. With the growth of Internet, social networking, on-demand programming, and computer games, there is more to keep us inside than there is to draw us out into the natural environment (or at least, it feels that way).
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56 Comments
Add CommentWhat about those of us like myself who hate camping, fishing and the great outdoors? I don't mind sitting in the back yard from time to time but find "the outdoors" typically cold, uncomfortable, smelly, and boring. Give me a room with forest wallpaper any day....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs a college student, I am astounded by the number of young adults that have never spent time in immersed in nature. I really feel that this study holds truth that ought to be incorporated at least on an individual level, but I wish that articles like this would include at least SOME statistics. How convincing was the study, and should more take place?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI recommend reading "Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv his wonderfully written book describes just how important it is that we get outside and get back in touch with nature.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI would also recommend watching Ken Burns DVD documentary National Parks: Americans Best Idea
I guarentee that if you read/watch these you'll be a believer!
Thank you University of Rochester!
maybe you are doing it wrong...maybe you just like Xbox...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyou use works like cold, smelly, and boring, but the outdoors can be warm, have crisp air, and get quite exciting to some people. Percepion is everythin. I bet you even have some Fresh Breeze Air Freshener in your bathroom too!
Since when is caring about others more important than caring about yourself?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSince around 10000 B.C.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI don't think the author used the word 'more' but rather caring for others in the sense of 'working toward the betterment of society' which was extremely important to the growth social groups and work together to further the species.
zsingerb....I pity your poor, destitute soul.....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOdd that the people that spend the most time outdoors such as farmers and hunters are almost universally(stereotypically) individualists in the extreme, yet have seriously strong family oriented and environmental values.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPerhaps the source sample is biased towards people that have already chosen to live in a man-made environment?
Don't get me wrong, I love the outdoors. Camping, hiking and other things. However, there are a lot of people who head to the wilderness because they are, by nature, antisocial.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTed Kacynski and Eric Rudolph come to mind.
I don't think our environment makes us better people, I think the actions we take in any environment are the key to building our values and charcter.
As a person that spends an enormous amount of time in the outdoors, in forests, swamps, deserts, mountains and beaches, the marval is our connectivity to nature and the wonder it unfords to us as we explore its beauty. It gives one a whole new perspective on life, it grounds us, it humbles us, it blows and expands our minds with each step. I see and learn something new with each exploration, it never ceases to amaze me and I have been exploring for over 66 years. As an aside, I have no attachemnt to things or money, this has evolved over the past 40 years!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat's an interesting take! In general, however, you will find an entirely different class of people who share the trails, explore the wilderness and respect it beauty. These people are from all walks of life, yet have a special bond, and this bond seems to be this respect for all living things and an appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us whatever the enviornment. It is quite refreshing to see so many parents sharing this philosophy and lifestyle with their children.
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Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI respect and enjoy all wildlife, and I am philosophically opposed to recreational hunting, trapping and the killing of animals.
There are anti-cruelty laws that attempt to prevent people from harming or starving domestic animals. But, in reality, "cruelty" includes every act, omission, or neglect, whereby unjustifiable physical pain, suffering or death is caused or permitted. Hunting is definitely animal cruelty.
States provide trophy hunting for truly odd people who find a distorted form of “recreation” in killing helpless animals and in order to please gun and archery manufacturers and fur and animal organ dealers.
This is "legalized" violence and it totally disgusts me.
@memore0
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe modern day farmers we know of today are a far cry from being in touch with nature.
They use machinery to work the land... they clear the land of all trees to plant crops and feed animals... and in the end, all their efforts go to large corporations such as wheat boards and slaughterhouses, because that is where the profits are.
They are as much individualistic as people living in the city, working labour for hire. They are just as disconnected from how they make a living as other city dwellers. They care for themselves and their own families, and that is all. They feign a sense of community, but in the end, it is all show, they only care about profits and themselves. The fake sense of community is an effort to seem part of something, because they feel so disconnected.
There was a time, probably hundreds to thousands of years ago, when farmers were more in touch with the land, they were more of an integrated part of the ecosystem. They used their own produce to feed themselves and their communities. Those days are gone, at least in the western world.
The real people who are truly in touch with their ecosystems were tribal people. Living in bands and communities, they relied on the land, respected it because it could give life, but at the same time, take it away. That is why they believed in Gods and rituals, because they needed faith to survive when they had no control over their livelihoods.
I believe that it is this part of ourselves that we have lost and pine for, yet none of us realise it is this connection with nature that we long for. To most of us, we merely feel an emptiness, a longing for more, a knowledge that no matter what we buy, we will still feel the same way, no matter how hard we search for meaning in life, it all feels meaningless.
We have lost that which connected us to the rest of our ecosystem. It is a result of our ability to adapt and change our environment. Maybe some day we will be able to integrate ourselves back into the environment some way, but we will never be as reliant on it as we were, and so we will always have some sense of loss.
Not everyone who heads for the wilderness is antisocial. Some of them leave modern society because they find modern society to be antisocial.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOur genes have not changed in the few thousand years since we moved to cities and in the few decades since we starting spending more time facing our computers than facing other people or the natural world. We are hard wired to feel serene with green because that meant plants were growing and we would eat. We love the sight and touch and sound of water becaause that also meant we would live.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn our ignorance and arrogance we proclaim we don't need nature anymore.
Not everyone who heads for the wilderness is antisocial. Some of them leave modern society because they find modern society to be antisocial.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOur genes have not changed in the few thousand years since we moved to cities and in the few decades since we starting spending more time facing our computers than facing other people or the natural world. We are hard wired to feel serene with green because that meant plants were growing and we would eat. We love the sight and touch and sound of water becaause that also meant we would live.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn our ignorance and arrogance we proclaim we don't need nature anymore.
Our genes may not have changed much, but our environment certainly has. And that environment has, in turn, caused some genes to mutate thus cause diseases like cancer--not to mention all of the social pathologies our modern, post-industrial, consumer culture has engendered. Indeed, now that we face a species threatening climate change in part due to our own arrogance that it is we who is the master over nature, were we to humble ourselves and return to simpler, more "natural" existences, living more in harmony with nature rather than continuing the futile aim of subduing her, I surmise we and our environs would be healthier, happier and more "moral" or "altruistic," as the research in this article suggests.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, Out door life may even cure depression!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPlease have a look at: "Happy End to Dukhi's Sorrowful Saga" at:
http://beyond-advaita.blogspot.com/2009/08/happy-end-to-dukhis-sorrowful-saga.html
I agree that spending time outdoors does improve our moral outlook. Every time I go outside to think I always feel more enlightened in some way; especially when its night and I could glance at the stars. To be honest, I would be okay with returning to a life in which we just depended on nature to survive and had no dependence on technology.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree that being outside increases our sense of morality and helps to enlighten us in some way. I think most people forget the fact that we depended on nature in the beginning when there wasn't technology to help us. To be honest, I would have no problem returning to a life where there was no dependence on technology.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThough the author's observations seem to be readily apparent and rather superficial, and personal--how many people have easy access to sage?--I am pleased that his ideas and research are published in a magazine with a broad readership, many of whom may be focused on work in a lab or library with little exposure to Nature. It is good to be reminded of the connectedness of all things in the universe. There is a real benefit to surrounding ourselves with live things, people, plants, pets... And don't forget the power of touch.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe pedestrian walks on the nature replace sports
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAloha,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am very interested in a couple of the above comments. First, I wonder which "farmers" "memore0" is talking about. I am a farmer and university professor. Farmers are anything but individualistic. On the contrary, farmers require help and depend on the shared work that happens between neighbors. In farm country, we watch out for each other and help each other when we need it. We also appreciate the necessity for refraining from damaging our environment. In Hawaiian the word `aina, which is used to mean "the land" actually means "that which feeds us". Very good word. Perhaps we confuse quiet with antisocial or individualistic. The second comment that interests me is the one about antisocial nature of outdoorsy people (sirebral). I think this is also a misunderstanding. That a person wants to add to the relationship they have by adding a more tangible relationship with non-human animals and other organisms is certainly not antisocial. On the contrary it is a desire to increase/improve the circle of social interaction. All too often humans think of themselves as somehow separate from "out there" or "nature". Time outside environments that are entirely human constructs may help realize that all life is interconnects and relies on each other.
The National Wildlife Federation is deeply concerned about the decrease in time kids spend outdoors. We are raising a generation of indoor kids who spend on average over 6 hours a day in front of an electronic screen of some kind. This is not only unhealthy but research shows that if children don't have some meaningful connection with nature by the time they are 11, they are unlikely to care about protecting our natural resources when they reach adulthood. That's why the National Wildlife Federation has created a Be Out There campaign, to connect children and their families with the natural world. Check out the web site at beoutthere.org
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI work as an ecologist and have to disagree with Cam about some of the "old school" farmers approach to land management. I would equate it to old school biblical where it was created for our use, which unfortunately frequently translates to abuse. There is a poor understanding of resource depletion and the inevitable consequences that will come with it. I do believe many of the next generation of farmers (those few individuals who can afford to do it) is experiencing a paradigm shift in their approach to land management. Unfortunately much of the land is being bought up by non-resident conglomerates who desire to squeeze maximum profit out of the land with minimum investment. As an aside I will say anyone who spends significant times in the outdoors (and observes anything) quickly recognizes the wonderful connectedness of life. It is an intricate and beautiful web, time has woven a beautiful tapestry for us to observe.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAloha ICCHEAP, Of course I am referring to the "real" old school farming techniques (ie before the agricultural revolution) or if you prefer "new" agroecological approaches to farming. Perhaps it is different where you live (although I do know First Nations peoples on the continent also did this) but for 1500 years here in Hawai`i (and for many thousands of years elsewhere in Polynesia), farmers have worked within a very limited resource base on remote isolated oceanic islands to support as many as a million people in Hawai`i (prior to Cook's arrival in 1792). I submit that the "old school" approach of ecologists (I am a molecular ecologist) to treat with distain the techniques foisted on farmers by the "AR" and the global economy is short-sighted scapegoating. Please let us not lump together farmers trying to survive in today's economy with corporate agriculture ventures. We depend on farms and farmers for our survival. Ecologists and farmers have a great deal that they can learn from each other and more importantly make the most sensible of team mates. Please also remember to purchase your food from local farmers and not the supermarket if you really think mega-farming approaches are misguided. If something is not n season in your area, don't buy it (100 mile diet) that way you don't reward financially the techniques you criticize theoretically.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisgreetings Cam, our philosophies operate from the same page. i grow a substantial amount of my own food, consume locally, nearly vegetarian, so I understand (and live) your point. while I think old (real old) school agro techniques provide a better model on how to operate within ecological constraints, they certainly had their problems (e.g. Cahokia culture collapse, meso-american cultural collapses - pre-european contact, and certainly island extinction issues from native cultures). I strongly agree with your comments regarding interaction of the ecological and farming community. It is occurring, although slower than one might like. I live in the Midwest in an academic setting, so while many of the techniques that are necessary to farm more ecologically are known, it hasn't necessarily translated to practical incorporation. My state really struggles with private landowner rights and an inability put some teeth into enforcement of better land management - especially over short term profits that deplete long term resources. But that has always been the bane of human culture, in broadstroke. Best of luck to us all in the next few decades!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo we know it is important (from this study and Richard Louv) to spend time in the wild, how do we do it? One option for children is to take advantage of semester school options for high school students like the Chewonki Semester, The Mountain School, Conserve School, Outdoor Academy, or the Rocky Mountain Semester. These programs allow students to earn high school credit while steping out of their traditional studies and into unique programs that use the outdoors as the classroom.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe, experiencing natural settings opens our eyes to the fact that "Man is NOT the measure of all things". A perspective where nothing around you is made by humans yet it is beautiful, functional and balanced infinitely better than any human creation. A person with significant outdoor natural experiences perhaps are less shell-shocked after a natural "disaster" that destroys man-made environments. That humbling perspective maybe the thing that stamps our souls with the thought that, "there is more to life than achieving importance in the world that is only a cheap imitation of what mother nature has perfected with billions of years of her handiwork." Maybe telling yourself , "the universe can do just fine without me, yet i am thankful for the time i have to learn about what created such beauty and perfect integration in the evolution of life." The natural world unspoiled is a perspective changer.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPerhaps this is another argumet for a strong reestablishment of natural history courses in college curricula, both general education and biology for majors.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wonder whether it's that simple? Several years ago as I was hiking up a trail I came across a teenager sitting on a rock completely absorbed in his Gameboy. The notion of solitude seems quaint nowadays. Indeed, the obsession with "social networking" may reveal a fear of solitude, may reveal a freightening emptiness in the consumer souls of many people.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wonder whether it's that simple? Several years ago as I was hiking up a trail I came across a teenager sitting on a rock completely absorbed in his Gameboy. The notion of solitude seems quaint nowadays yet I should think that the therapeutic value of solitude would be greater than ever because of increasing stress of the pervasiveness of modernism. Yet the current obsession with "social networking" reveals a fear of solitude, perhaps because solitude has the power to reveal a freightening emptiness in the consumer soul.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI served as an Infantryman with the US Army in Vietnam.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMost of the time, I was in or near the jungles and mountains of that nation. I lived in a hole in the ground. I had no tent. The night sky was my canopy. I was subjected to the elements like rain, heat, and, sometimes, the cold. I was stalked by Tigers and men. I became very close to nature, the men surrounding me, the concept of eternity and death, the overpowering majesty and beauty of nature and the transitory nature of man's brief life. The aforementioned, of course, as the original article implies, inevitably makes you a much more spiritual person with the definite feeling that man, as an individual and as a species, is connected to nature in many ways such that it is important to treat nature and and mankind with respect as the same will result in mankind and nature responding in kind.
Then, for heaven's sake, stay home!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSince it turned out that caring for others and for nature has strong survival implications in the entire evolution of homo so-called sapiens. That's when.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWilderness teaches a person the answers to questions we have not yet learned how to ask (Nancy Newhall)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTime spent climbing mountains will not be counted against the rest of your life (paraphrased from The Compleat Angler, 1650)
Wilderness teaches a person the answers to questions we have not yet learned how to ask (Nancy Newhall). Time spent climbing mountains will not be counted against the rest of your life (1650, The Compleat Angler).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am a graduate of the University of the Wilderness and I frequently attend essential continuing education classes.
Wilderness teaches a person the answers to questions we have not yet learned how to ask (Nancy Newhall)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTime spent climbing mountains will not be counted against the rest of your life (paraphrased from The Compleat Angler, 1650)
Notice too how even the desire to be outdoors has been politicized - not the least by broken philosophies like "Objectivism" which preaches the "virtue of selfishness." Since the political right adopted this set of notions in the 1980s, we've seen a redirecting of society toward more consumption, more taking in of television and other artificial diversions - WHICH humans are nowhere near adapted to yet.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy first 11 years of life, we lived in a semi-rural setting with only 3 houses on the block and forest between the north-most and center and more forest between the south-most and center as well as three "empty blocks" across the street: all forested.
My years "in the woods" made me an outdoorsman and sparked my interest in Science and Ecology as well. Today - when I'm with friends from those early days or with friends I met during the much longer "city phase" - I can see and hear the difference between "upbringings." When I talk about my projects in protecting Nature or contributing to the community where I live: the "city friends" object or just express disinterest. They are the "Me First Generation" and I think they are among the Damned.
Mankind needs the tiger and the waterfall.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this– R. Kipling
Tom Shillock writes of coming across a teenager on a trail who was playing with his (electronic) "Gameboy." Yes - even in a city setting we see people absorbed in the artificial. Ironic that this activity is probably driven by a desire to ESCAPE that very environment.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy adult daughter was a nature interpreter and wilderness guide a few years ago. She tells of one group of youths visiting Yosemite who were from a large city in the East. A couple of times she had to restrain and "re-instruct" these youths because they approached the brink of the cliff they were on as if it were "on TV" and not right in front of them. I've had similar experiences when taking city-bred friends on wilderness camping trips - this really happens. Rarely does this kind of person ever learn how to connect with the reality of Nature. Instead, they lecture other equally ignorant people on THEIR version of Reality.
nature is simply fascinating when you think of it that way. It also is both good and bad. that is it has no feelings towards you.if you witness a beautiful double rainbow over a waterfall OR slip and fall off a mountainside and get killed ..it doesnst matter to nature either way..civilization is also facinating because humans are growing in number and building living houses,towns, and cities for themselves in what seems like an ever growing mold on the earth. for what? mankind is directionless..people help each other people kill each other..its all in the same pot. how many people take one minute a month to look at the sky on a cloudless night.we all come and go..billions of tombstones cover the earth of those who were temporarily here..what difference does it matter if they liked nature..people talk of themselves and the effect that their experiences with nature will have on them who cares? it doesn't matter..people flip flop from being self absorbed ..then talk about society...ha ha its all horseshit..life that is..it just something happening here and nothing more..mans brain is interconnected to this universe ..mans brains are all interconnected ..the internet will lead to one big brain on earth that can try to get us to where we belong..nothing more..single brains are very powerful but mankind doesnt use them to their full capacity..we are one with nature and therefore as an individual it is up to you whether you want to enjoy the outdoors meditating or enjoy the indoors looking at tv.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo, according to your belief, existence is meaningless. What's your recommended way of life then? What motivates you and what do you do about it?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's okay if you like being a zero. Zeroes are good because they don't affect the rest of us who are integers one way of the other. That's why we ignore them most of the time - the exception to that is when a Zero speaks up and tries to tell us that we are also Zeroes. That's when we say to our fellow integers, "Say look at that, a Zero is trying to tell us that we should also be Zeroes and have no effect on anything. How pathetic - and contradictory of its own nature. " Then we go on about our fulfilling lives, having forgotten the Zero ever was.
Oh, did you say something? ;-)
Actually, you bring up a good point for discussion.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI've known several people who react as you do to "the outdoors." The one thing I've confirmed is that the difference between people who do like the outdoors and those who don't is: People who like camping, hiking, canoeing, etc - all make a game of the "hardships." They enjoy this game and give themselves points for how well they adapt and cope with the extra inconveniences and discomforts.
The surest way to get a person to "like the outdoors" is to make sure they start exposure to the natural environments while still children. Children, as everyone knows, learn by playing. I clearly remember the "games" we played in the woods and around the ponds where we lived - starting by the time we were in Kindergarten. One of the regular projects (year round) was making "forts." Spring through summer were times when we used "any materials" to build what were actually huts. Winter: we learned to make igloos "just like the eskimos." Other games were hunting (mimicking adult hunters) and "gathering" - in reality it was more like grade school looting of fruits and vegetables from gardens but definitely included gathering wild berries and fruits not normally available in grocery stores. Getting scratched up, muddied and sometimes bloodied were evidence of our toughness. One game consisted of running through a burning pile of leaves - choking on the smoke and stamping our feet like mad to shake hot ashes out of our shoes. Counting mosquito bites was another "trophy achievement."
Even as adults, campers I was with reveled in our ability to cope with days of rain during camping trips. In the Canadian wilderness, I've sat with one other fellow at night, at a camp fire, surrounded by a pack of wolves. I've had moose almost trample my tent at night ( a tremendous, terrifying racket!). And I love every experience and still want more.
To be an adult without such early challenges (even though mostly imagined or self-made) must make it nearly impossible to "enjoy" the outdoors. But if you can just start thinking of camping, canoeing and other outdoor activities as a game where you "win" by overcoming inconvenience and a bit of discomfort - you would be better off, I believe. The better you develop your abilities, the less discomfort and inconvenience you will experience. (And yes, putting on sun screen and / or bug repellant is 'LEGAL' - a legitimate human "outsmarting" of Nature. ) Definitely: put a "reward system" in place.
Regarding farmers and hunters--throw away the stereotype. Although I've been an office-working professional for more than 30 years, I grew up on a farm in a family that had farmed for many generations. Hunting was also a favorite autumn passtime for many of us. Through my college years, I operated a small Saturday business in which I served many farmers.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFarmers and hunters are people, and as such no single description can fit all of them. There will be exceptions to any generalization. But, as a whole, my experience tells me that farmers and hunters feel a great connection to other people, and are quick to respond to someone in distress.
'Nature' taught us all we know - since everything that we know - or think that we know - is about nature ? - well apart from "Art", maybe which is anybodies guess !. Much of our striving to "undestand nature" has been fostered by the desire to make ourselves first, less uncomfortable, hungry, etc., and thereafter ever upwards towards "decadence", but there must always have existed those who simply wanted to sort-out mysteries. "Scientists" I call them. What else could have created the Periodic Table but a scientist.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe first kind of mind then comes-along and sees "possibilities" with the new knowledge. And it is said that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" - and The Ancient Greeks wrote Myths about it, so it's nothing new to today. The far-reaching knowledge provided by scientists these days shows the truth of the "Little knowledge ..." proverb - and also of the realizarions of "simple" people like the Red Indians, who saww that Life - Ecology - was a great complex web, of which we are a part and the Bill for damaging will have to be paid - maybe for Ever. Now I'm talking "Myth", of course !
Nice job !
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou must tell me how you do it all without money, because I have as much "nature" as I can cope with, in the form of 1000m^2 in Bulgaria with a house, 6 cats and 3 dogs and we are staring into the approaching doom as our food "runs-out" and no customers for an incredibly nice wind-Turbine-Alternator up in a Bellfrey (Tadfrey) atop the house.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Things" - who needs 'em ! How do you cook your food ?, What do you sleep in ? Make a buss - or a pair of boots ?
Like the Red Indians noticed - life is complex. Maybe not so much when you are a tourist, though.
Q.E.D.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNature soothes.....the soft twilight or dawn...the sound of a babbling brook...the flight of migrating geese...trees rustling in the breeze....enough said.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOne impulse from a vernal wood
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMay teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.
Wordsworth The tables turned 21-24 (1798)
Gardening is probably also beneficial in the same ways as camping etc., given that it's conducted outside and about nurturing (plants).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGardening is probably aslo beneficial in similar ways, because it happens outside and involves nurturing non-human entities.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou are the victim of the mythology of individualism. First off, the argument which says the individual is prime is easily proven false since no individual (from birth to grave) exists without the benefit of (A) a hospitable environment and (B) the care and help of others.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe other falsity is evident in the way you pose the question: it is NOT a matter of which is more important, it is a matter of fact that individuals continually calculate their own welfare against that of others. Sometimes the benefit to self outweighs the obligation to others, sometimes the benefit to others outweighs the benefit to self. This continually changes depending on situation specific factors.
It is equally wrong (and harmful) to claim that our individual obligation to others always trumps our self interest. It is the extremist tendencies in these opposing ideologies (left vs right) which makes them dangerous traps for the unwary.
You appear to be fearful of the "communist influence" you've inferred from the article. This article merely states a scientifically proven fact: humans do better overall when they have regular exposure to the natural environment and they do more poorly when deprived of that experience.
You may or may not be aware but the ideology of the political right has been on a conscious campaign to minimize our interest and regard for natural resources. This is merely due to their (excessive) fear that our capitalist-produced civilization is threatened (in imaginary ways). This is what we end up with when we put too much reliance on philosophical and political rhetoric. Existence is not a giant debating society but it can be harmed by such a construct. Almost all of the fears and threats posed by ideologies can be solved with one ingredient: Honesty. Rather than arguing for selfishness or communal living: let us argue for and be honest.
What about those who hate camping? Well - those who hate camping and the "uncomfortable outdoors" have unfortunately never been given a MOTIVE for enjoying such experiences.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI grew up in a house which was flanked North, South and West by forest. The local civilization was on the next street to the East (behind our house). So most of the time, I was unaware of the houses behind our house because we usually looked out the windows to the North, South and West and our front door opened on a woodsy vista across the gravel road from our front yard. Thus it was easy for me to spend my childhood in those woods. It was all about the motivation of curiosity then. I studied birds, ants, bees, wild flowers and wild animals on a daily basis. I also learned to hunt, using sling-shot, rifle, shotgun and finally pistol.
As an adult, I had like-minded friends who easily convinced me to go on wilderness canoe trips lasting for days. Other friends easily convinced me to go on hunting trips. During all of these years: I became proud of my abilities and took pleasure in adapting to the "uncomfortable outdoors" - which included camping for days in the rain and camping during Northern Michigan winters.
So it was curiosity combined with friendship and pride which kept me "comfortable" and motivated through fifty years of outdoor (including wilderness) pursuits.
My daughter wrote the following to me this Father's Day:
"Thank you for observing the world so carefully, for noticing and reveling in the details, for passing on the poetry of life, for teaching me how to find treasures hidden amongst the leaves and under fallen logs -- mayapples, puffball mushrooms, centipedes..."
My daughter double-majored in Natural Sciences and now teaches Natural Sciences to urban school kids. (She is also a certified first responder in wilderness rescues and an NRA Rifle Instructor) See - what we get from the outdoors in Nature is a treasure which we can pass on to generations far beyond our life span.
The one clear thing is: Fathers and mothers must bring their children into the Wild World early in their lives. Those who fail to do this break the vital link we humans have with our planet. This is a great tragedy, not cause for scorn at those who have been deprived.