5 scientists hike for 7 days, no electronics
They go hiking and give up their cellphones, PDAs, etc. for one entire week to study the effects on the brain. Oh, the humanity...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/te...nted=1&_r=1&hp
Sounds like a couple good trailnames came out of that group. ...... "The Believer" and "The Skeptic".
"Fish Camp Woman.... Baby, I like the way you smell"
- Unknown Hinson
its a mixed bag for me, I love my iPhone and love being "connected" but there are times when I am thrilled to look at the display and see "No Service"
its not easy, nor really all that realistic. in this day and age its very hard to go without electronics...in the woods, its much easier.
that said, i saw about 6 thru hikers last week and they all had cell phones...one guy actually had his out every time i passed by him....
They are thinking about a seminal study from the University of Michigan that showed people can better learn after walking in the woods than after walking a busy street.
Man, if I only knew that in college!
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Mr. Strayer, the trip leader, argues that nature can refresh the brain. “Our senses change. They kind of recalibrate — you notice sounds, like these crickets chirping; you hear the river, the sounds, the smells, you become more connected to the physical environment, the earth, rather than the artificial environment.”
“That’s why they call it vacation. It’s restorative,” Mr. Braver says.
Something that John Muir and the other pioneers of our nations National Parks realized a long time ago
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Mr. Kramer says he wants to look at whether the benefits to the brain — the clearer thoughts, for example — come from the experience of being in nature, the exertion of hiking and rafting, or a combination.
Sounds like justification for more outdoor trips!
I thought this was the Humor Section again .... Like how many scientists do you need to move dirt in the woods?
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
Or how many scientists can sit on the head of a dirty pin.Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl
Sounds like someone had a brilliant idea to get their respective Universities to pay for a week camping trip. It seems far from scientific. If you were really studying this shouldn't you go longer than a week and have more diverse test subjects than just the researchers?
No man should go through life without once experiencing healthy even bored solitude in the wilderness, finding himself depending solely on himself and thereby learning his true and hidden strength.
What I got from it was that this is just the beginning of their research. They came up with a lot of ideas about how to measure this and study it more. A lot of people on this site already know this stuff, but these guys like to see where in the brain it happens and how. So don't dismiss it so quick. There will be more research.
That's very cool - in 2001 I went on a 4-month hike and came out on 9/11. The next week and half, where ever I went people were glued to televisions watching the news. It was a trip to go from total digital disconnect to intense dependence all around me. I felt that having been in the woods for 4 months, I was able to stay more grounded and, at the same time, more emtionally connected, with the whole 9/11 incident. I think there is a ton of more research to do in this direction.
Yeah, like a few attractive young women from the athletics department.
I'm calling b.s., this thread needs to be moved to hiking humor
The trail was here before we arrived, and it will still be here when we are gone...enjoy it now, and preserve it for others that come after us
Cell phone: never had one, never will. And TV free since the mid/late '90s. Other than a coffee deficiency, which is soon to be rectified, my brain feels fine.
never say never man...in 10 yrs when land lines become obsolete how will you talk to the people in your life? do you not have a car either? hell, why wear clothes, the didnt do that thousands of years ago either...
sorry i just dont understand peoples resistance to cell phones or technology in general...people act like theyre so above all that "nonsense" meanwhile theyre just falling behind in society...sure a TV is a luxury and just full of commercials and stupid crap but PBS man, thats some cool stuff your missing..but the cell phone thing...i donno, get with the times
and besides, why are they even doing this experiment in the first place? if you took the probable average age of the scientists, its likley most of them lived 50% of their lives thus far WITHOUT electronics such as PDAs, cell phones and GPS...so just think back 10 years and theres the answer...oh look we all survived somehow.
geez do this expiriment in 50 yrs...take electronics away from someone who has never lived without them....heck my 2 yr old neice can use an iphone pretty well, now thats scary..
I think I will volunteer as a subject for their next experiment!
SMSP
As I read the article and the purpose behind the trip, what I took away was that this was not about a particular experiement, but more along the lines of getting out of the office and networking. Sort of having an open discussion about the affects of technology on the brain. How does "connectedness" for example impact attention and attention spans. It is something worth studying.
There is nothing wrong with technology especially the modern ability to be connected. But there are certainly dangers and issues that come along with it. Personally I am not really a tech junkie and some of my friends will say that I am probably more of a luddite.
I dont have a land line and I only have a cell phone. Unless I travel out of town my phone remains on my night stand. I appreciate the ability to get in touch with someone easily especially in an emergency and this benefit was certainly illustrated with my dad's motorcycle accident.
I never made the digital switch, finding more and more much on TV was just stupid and only use my "outdated" TV to watch DVDs. The only thing that about technology that I do love is the internet, but it is to me nothing more than a library and a research hub.
Being able to watch a lot of people thoughout the day, what I have noticed is that what connectedness has brought is (and mentioned in the article) a feeling of urgency on the part of most folks. Every little thing turns into an urgent event. It took me a while to train a few friends that their feeling of urgency does not necessitate a crisis on my part... they can leave a message and I will probably get back to them later.
Yes, I will generally have my phone with me out hiking, but that doesnt mean that I have to answer it.
Last edited by Tuckahoe; 08-17-2010 at 11:56.
igne et ferrum est potentas
"In the beginning, all America was Virginia." -William Byrd
I use my cell everyday in the city, and have no problem not using it for a week at a time in the woods. HYOH
i don't own a cell. never will
The Gadget Explosion
I was glad when I saw this thread. What is clear is that the explosion of gadgets is having a profound effect on the developing brains of the young, an almost drug-like effect. On others who have a need to connect via internet and other mediums these may be an invaluable social networking tool. Some of us can become addicted without knowing it to new forms of instantaneous communication. I am very surprized that there have been so few serious studies of this huge issue, with university conferances and summits.
I am reminded of what C.S. Lewis once said in Screwtape Letters, quoting from Aristotle:
"Let him do anything but act. No amount of piety in his imagination and affections will harm us if we can keep it out of his will. As one of the humans has said, active habits are strengthened by repetition but passive ones are weakened. The more often he feels without acting, the less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel."
I am afraid that some of the new technologies are giving the illusion of action, while re-enforcing habits that are not helpful.
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