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Comment by wepple | Hacker News Reader

I disagree that it’s due to boredom, or that it is overrated.

Learning about other cultures and other people’s way of life is incredibly important in an increasingly divided world. I strongly believe that if the average American spent time living with an Islamic family in the Middle East for a week, we might break down a lot of barriers between all the folks that share this rock we live on.

It’s another question as to whether that’s the type of travel people want to do, or whether it’s all collecting Instagram photos because #wanderlust is trendy and accessible right now

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There are so many different cultures much closer to people. If the motivation for travel was to learn about other cultures, go to a different part of town, eat at their restaurants, go to their bars, make some friends, and learn. There are Islamic families in the US as well as the Middle East.

> if the average American spent time living with an Islamic family in the Middle East for a week

Or opposite. Dating girl from strict Muslim family was eye opening.

All of this can be done via the internet.

That's not the same.

Why?

Because you can't replace first hand experience with brwowsing the internet. There is much more to a place than you can see on a screen.

You remind me of an old lady I met while living in Southern California. This lady was extremely proud of the fact that she had never set foot outside of California her entire life (by choice, as she was quite wealthy). I asked her about it and she said “Honey, why bother? It’s paradise here. If I ever wonder about life elsewhere, I can read about it or watch a documentary!”

I mean, to each his own, but to me it’s the difference between reading documentation about code vs. writing code. The former may give you some good information, and may even be essential, but it’s not the same as experiencing the real thing.

Think bigger. Her and you have never set foot outside Earth. What makes California so different from x or y point on Earth? Really think about it deeply.

Please don't compare reading and writing code or a book for that matter to getting on a plane and staying in a hotel or a apartment.

Your comment lacks substance.

Care to explain why you have an issue with my analogy?

During the Colonial era, quite a lot of indigenous peoples were wiped out by exposure to new diseases. Last I checked, we still haven't figured out what caused Gulf War Syndrome, much less how to cure it.

I'm convinced that there are a lot more health problems related to traveling and having no understanding of what we are exposing ourselves to than gets recognized, and there are plenty of stories out there of people bringing back horrifying health issues from their honeymoon or whatever. (I'm thinking of some article about some couple that picked up some parasitic worm from walking on the beach. The photos were disturbing.)

And it can be an issue that a local wouldn't have a big problem with. Maybe they have immunity or maybe they know not do X or whatever.

I don't want to shut travel down entirely, but I think ideas like yours contain very, very large blind spots.

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