Re: The joy of actual numbers, was Democracy

On Sat, 9 Nov 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

I've learned nothing travelling which I couldn't have learned at home with the help of the internet, good books and documentaries.

>
I find that absolutely staggering.

Well, taste, cravings and desire differ.

From installing discos in Soweto to breaking cars in a Los Angeles scrapyard, you simply cant get that level of experience off the Internet..
The smell of a tropical colonial Spanish town steeped in poverty.
The smell of the African veldt and the rhinos...
The staggering arrogant cluelessness of the affluent German middle class public sector worker...
The extraordinary sight of crossing from Denmark to Sweden and being jolted by the fact that something had changed. Young couples were smiling and holding hands. Unheard of in Denmark.
Talking to a Mexican entrepreneur about the Spanish/Indian class structure.
The leftover Tannoy systems in Czechoslovakia post the collapse of the USSR where the communist propaganda was broadcast in every street in every village.
Driving through former East Germany and seeing no activity whatsoever apart from a drunk staggering down the street.
Spending twenty minutes on a greyhound bus talking down a drunk black man waving a loaded revolver who felt disrespected in Chicago.

All of the above sounds boring and unpleasant to me.
I appreciate a cinnamon roll and a good cup of coffee in a nice café
close by, a good book, an interesting idea, conversations like this one
online, earning money, doing business, investing!
None of that, would I ever want to trade against what you describe
above.