What means "Get outside and travel the world!" Why?

[careful]

I get this a lot. People telling me to "get outside" and "travel the world". I also hear people say this to others. What the hell does this mean? What benefit is there to me in "traveling the world" and what are people actually telling me to do when they say this? Is this an insult?

I'd like to know what you think, so at this point you can stop reading. Here, I'm going to give the most representative example I have ever bore witness to but you don't have to read this part, its just an example from a youtube commenter so it's a little inane. Anyways, I had fun with this one, but here is the conversation with noncritical parts omitted if you have the patience to read it (the unsolicited travel advice is in red):

Spoiler: maximize if you want to see the conversation

Dude:

lol @ a guy's screename ID is "LiberalViewer" calling out anyone else on being "biased." This guy's propaganda and slick selectively edited videos show his true bias and being disingenuous.

Me:

"This guy's propaganda and slick selectively edited videos show his true bias and being disingenuous." slick and selectively edited videos? yes (but no one is saying that it isnt) biased? yes (not always a bad thing) disingenuous? no, it doesn't seem like it. This playlist is called "Fox News Bias" so uhm what exactly were you expecting? praise for Fox News? lolz

Dude:

Disingenuous? Yes it is. I think the person who created this video needs to stop obsessing over Fox News like the typical white gay male obsessive Andrew Sulivan blogger and get out more and see the world,go travel, same with you, it's a great world out there and you should travel and watching some videos online doesn't make you worldly or sophisticated or intellectual, which you are none of.

Me:

So is that an explanation of why he is disingenuous? Because you think it's obsessive and you don't approve? Well, it may be obsessive, but Einstein could be accused of being obsessive. That indictment isn't as damning as you think it is. And given the unprecedented influence FNews has, given that it is a political propaganda machine and not just a singular celebrity that you don't like, I think tedious scrutiny is not time wasted.

worldly? lolz that's right im not sophisticated or intellectual unless I've been to X number of tourist hotspots. i have to go take pictures of giant structures to understand their history. cuz ya know, nothing says worldly better then a photo album of foreigners and large pretty statues. lolz

Dude:

[ew Research Center did a study showing MSNBC is more biased than Fox News. Fox is propaganda? Hardly compared to the George Soros funded propaganda (Huffingtonpost, Moveon org, Media Matters, DailyKos, Snopes, Factcheck org, The Young Turks, Current TV, MSNBC) which all do the dirty work for the Obama White House and Valerie Jarret. I suggest you get off your parents computer and get a pasport and go tavel. Oh, and go help the poor for once instead of talking about it.

Me:

haha, I haven't even introduced myself yet, but you seem to have me all figured out. Well good job identifying the array of mainstream media outlets, congratulations, that is very clever in a hard hitting meta kind-a-way. However those are functionally entertainment outlets, not news. You and I probably have different conceptions of what constitutes news, but I see your point. And I agree with your allegations. Still wanna know about the disingenuous thing though lolz

Dude in a personal message sent:

What are your credentials and resume? I can tell you're another far left blogger and vlogger who has no real life experiences and resume so you created an nice convenient alter ego behind a computer under an anonymous screename with a nice shtick of acting like some intellectual to make up for the fact you lack any real substance in real life.

You are a product of this new global "youth movement" of liberal bloggers who think you are entitled to tax payers giving you things for "free" when you never worked or earned it. You are part of this MTV trendy Occupy Wallstreet pushed by multi-millionaire Hollywood celebrities and musicians who they themselves have nice financial advisors on Wallstreet like Russel Simmons, Jay Z, Beyonce, Bill Maher, John Stewart have.

If it wasn't for George Soros and the millions of dollars he wastes and throws out there wrecklessly funding extremist propaganda propaganda souces like Huffingtonpost, Media Matters, Moveon.org, DailyKos, Snopes, Factcheck.org, The Young Turks, Current TV, MSNBC then you wouldn't have any talking points. Those sources above provide you far left talking points since you can't compete in the open free markets against conservatives.

Bye, stay safe

To me, it seems this guy is working under the assumption that: traveling around the world = cure for ignorance. And it seems most people think this way. Like I'm going to learn things by observing impoverished foreigners or the carbon copy chain of wealthy countries. Is the difference between a hot dog, a felafel, and a croissant supposed to be enlightening?

We'll the only foreign country I've ever been to is (rural) Japan. But on several occasions I've met people who know less about the Isreali-Palestine conflict then I do yet have toured all over Israel.

 

[careful]

My perspective: I've learned infinitely more on something as important, to give a silly but best i can think of example, on the Israel-Palestine conflict reading Norman Finkelsteins books and looking at the "22 days of death and destruction" from Amnesty International along with looking at the website of the International Court of Justice (they have advisory reports that are readable). Reading stuff like this I've learned that it is occupation, humiliation, and economic depredation of the Palestinians from the Israeli forces. If you watch the Mainstream, as many do, you might think there's a real conflict occurring. The conflict is like how a mouse is in conflict with a cat. Or a victim is in conflict with her rapist. But this dude i met in one of my classes and had spent almost an entire summer in Jerusalem, which is not Gaza but its right in the damn middle of all that shit, and he thought I was just a conspiracy theorist. I spent months showing him on the internets the stuff I had read and he said that he just didn't see any of that. How on earth can a functioning human being spend a summer in Jerusalem and not comprehend what is going on the larger region? Guess I don't know cuz I haven't been there lolz

 

[Vegosiux]

It's usually people calling you closed-minded because you can't go and spend a year doing nothing but taking pictures around the world with your parents' money if you ask me. So yes, usually I'd say it's meant in a derogatory, "you peasant really should be more like me" way.

While it's true that seeing different places and cultures is an educational experience, make no mistake, it's hardly going to make a difference between you being a decent and empathic person and you not being one.

 

[Vern5]

Guess I don't know cuz I haven't been there lolz

I feel like this is the reason for traveling anywhere. You cannot really understand anything about a distant place unless you've been there. This goes the same for different cultures; you can't understand the outside world unless you've had yourself immersed in it.

Don't get me wrong, you can read and look up all sorts of information on the net or in books but first-hand experience always trumps vicarious experience.

In reality, enlightenment is what you make of it. I definitely feel less ignorant due to a life of world travel. I can tell you already that I've lived a lot of the things people only talk about on the internet. Most of it was fun. Some of it was... weird. But, honestly, you can draw "enlightenment" from the most mundane experiences; you don't have to do something amazing in order to realize something amazing. That's the nature of inspiration and other spontaneous mental processes.

 

[generals3]

I get this a lot. People telling me to "get outside" and "travel the world". I also hear people say this to others. What the hell does this mean? What benefit is there to me in "traveling the world" and what are people actually telling me to do when they say this? Is this an insult?

I'd like to know what you think, so at this point you can stop reading. Here, I'm going to give the most representative example I have ever bore witness to but you don't have to read this part, its just an example from a youtube commenter so it's a little inane. Anyways, I had fun with this one, but here is the conversation with noncritical parts omitted if you have the patience to read it (the unsolicited travel advice is in red):


To me, it seems this guy is working under the assumption that: traveling around the world = cure for ignorance. And it seems most people think this way. Like I'm going to learn things by observing impoverished foreigners or the carbon copy chain of wealthy countries. Is the difference between a hot dog, a felafel, and a croissant supposed to be enlightening?

We'll the only foreign country I've ever been to is (rural) Japan. But on several occasions I've met people who know less about the Isreali-Palestine conflict then I do yet have toured all over Israel.

Well while i must say that in this particular context the phrase "get outside and travel the world" was a bit misused traveling around does help open your mind and learn things. It's a bit like studying business vs doing business. Knowing theory is one thing but experiencing it first hand is an other. You can learn a lot from reading and watching videos but being able to experience it first hand is a plus. Do mind that only traveling without having made your proper "theoretical homework" may also mislead you as you may not understand the context of what you're experiencing. Which is why some people who have traveled to places may still be ignorant about said places.

 

[Shock and Awe]

While that guy was just trying for a cheap insult traveling to other places is good for anyone. Helps give you perspective if nothing else.

 

[Coffeejack]

It sounds like he was just trying to steer the conversation away from his own ignorance and mind-melting shallowness. To summarize, here are a few things he can't tell:

1. Shit from shinola.
2. His ass from his elbow.
3. A shovel from a spade.

He was abandoning the discussion like a rat from a sinking ship.

 

[Erja_Perttu]

As I can't be bothered to read what the conversation is that the original question applies to, my opinion is this.

Travelling the world is fun, interesting and can broaden peoples horizons, perspectives and outlook. Travelling has done me the world of good. Experiencing different ways of life and cultures has made me want to work for what I don't have and appreciate what i do.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

"Travel broadens the mind".

Been said a million times. There is something to it(though it's by no means guaranteed), but it's also been adopted by more than a few pretentious wankers.

What are you gonna do, really? Wankers ruin everything.

 

[Doclector]

Personally, I'd usually say "Why? Everywhere outside of the UK is infested with giant arachnids and things whose bites make your balls drop right the fuck off."

Though recently, with my current trend for (for want of a less pretentious term) "soul searching", I'll admit, an urge to travel that I have neither the finances nor the, to be frank, bravery to go through with, has emerged. Then again, even that could be a product of people saying these things that much. Some part of me thinks that if I went on some grand journey, it'd solve...something. Answer all the questions going round in my head. Then a cynical part of me pretty much knows I'd only have spent a massive amount of money, with nothing but some admittedly good memories to show for it, and nothing truly solved.

 

[Nickolai77]

I think the term "travel broadens the mind" is a bit of an outdated phrase, coming from a time when you actually had to travel outside your own country to come into contact with new ideas and opinions. Go back a hundred years ago, practically all the sources of information you'll have come across would have come from your own country. Newspapers, radio, schools- they all run on a national basis.

That's not to say ideas didn't cross borders, they evidently did, but a lot slower than they do now, hence if you were to travel around you would come into contact with these ideas a lot quicker than you would have done waiting for them to filter into your own country. This is where i think the expression comes from.

However, now, ideas instantly cross borders. At the very moment i click "post", i'm transmitting my idea here across the world, so anyone anywhere can read it. Travel doesn't broaden the mind any more, instead its the world wide web. If you want to learn about the world, all you have to do now is stay at home and browse the internet. (Not that i would strictly recommend it)

And in addition- when most people go abroad, what do they do? Take pictures of some fancy castles, ride an elephant, lounge on the beach, get drunk. You don't learn anything from that- you have fun, but i certainly don't think that makes you a better person. Although it certainly gives you plenty to talk about.

Really, i think you have to live, work or study abroad for an extended period of time to get any sense of what living in another countries like, and get a proper "feel" for living in that place. Obviously that's not practical for everyone though, and i wouldn't know if living abroad makes you better or wiser than someone else who hasn't. That said you do get numerous tangible benefits such as, perhaps learning a new language, being more employable, gaining a lot of conversational material etc. But wherever it makes you any more wiser or interesting or "better" as a person, i'm more sceptical of that claim.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I suppose this link sum up the ideal to behind the whole travelling the world to broaden yourself-

http://kennbrix.tumblr.com/post/37891887412/the-cause-of-racism-is-often-fear-of-the-unknown

In reality however is different for many reasons (like you can still have the same thinking/ understanding despite having travelling or your experience from it had made it worse due to horrible experience/ encounter from it like e.g. ill prepared from the travel.

 

[Loonyyy]

Going somewhere teaches you nothing. Education is education, and information is information. You can get that where ever you are.

But it does make a very convenient ad hominem. "Go travel." "Respect Authority" "Listen to your elders" "I've got more money than you". Resorting to such vapid rhetoric, and, in defense of Fox News, should tell you exactly what kind of intellect you're dealing with.

 

[Reaper195]

I'd love to explore the world. Unfortunately, I'm broke as all fuck, so when people tell me this, I ask them to pay for all my expenses. But actually going to places around the world won't teach you anything. Well...technically it will, but only about as much as going to the library or reading about something on Wikipedia. But on the other hand, I couldn't give a shit about the reasons why the Egyptian Pyramids were built, how they were built, etc. I'd much rather be standing right next to one. Nowadays, one would generally travel around the world for a sense of freedom and adventure. Aside from that...there is no real reason to do so. So unless you really live seeing new places, not just on a computer screen, there is no point to travelling.

 

[Random Argument Man]

For someone who writes on a gaming forum, I found this a bit sad to hear this question.

It's one thing to read or to create something similar of "something". It's a very different thing to experience it. My brother lives in Montreal and I always thought it was just some big city. I went there. The life, the culture, the differences, etc. There's no Internet page that can try to recreate the feelings and sensations of visiting another place.

It's like reading the plot of the game on a wiki page and then playing the game. I've met someone that told me about Silent hill, but I'll always remember PLAYING Silent Hill. (especially that part when Pyramid head is chasing me and Mary in the hospital).

Besides, later in life, when I'll be asked the question "Did you go anywhere in your life?", I won't say "Nope, the Internet told me that everywhere in the world is a two thumbs down".

 

[Vegosiux]

Besides, later in life, when I'll be asked the question "Did you go anywhere in your life?", I won't say "Nope, the Internet told me that everywhere in the world is a two thumbs down".

Well, it also seems you're lucky enough to not have to say "Nope, I actually had to work my fingers to the bone merely to scrape by, much less save something for actual travel."

 

[Kizo]

What a depressing thread.

Seriously, travel. Get out there. Nothing is a substitute.

Seeing the world offers unparalleled perspective. Claiming that you don't understand why anyone would recommend travel is the point in itself; people who stay in one place and one culture for their entire lives have can't understand that.

That's not to say that where you are now is bad, or that your lifestyle is poor. I love the internet, and I like where I live. However, my perspective and worldview allow me to appreciate my life even more thanks to all the traveling I've done. This doesn't (necessarily) have anything to do with going somewhere bleak and poor and being thankful of what you have, either. Seeing other cultures that are equally affluent or fortunate will broaden your perspective just as much.

Of course, traveling is not equivalent to education, and a savvy internet user can be far more aware of news items and facts than someone who has visited dozens of countries, but those are two different points. Maybe the person with whom you were arguing sees travel as a prerequisite to intelligence, but I don't. That said, I am confounded by anyone intelligent who is perfectly content to stay in one small corner of the world for a lifetime. There is no substitute for experiencing different cultures in person.

Ultimately, you don't know what you're missing until you go. That doesn't mean you're guaranteed to enjoy it, of course, nor is it intended as an insult to say you're unaware of something, but refusing to try something out of an assumption of that thing's qualities is unfortunate.

 

[nuba km]

I often find that people who believe travel broadens the mind are also the kind of people who would say 'you wouldn't imagine that people could live in such poverty', I always think 'YES I COULD IMAGINE IT'. I find these are just people who haven't thought about the world outside what they experienced until they went travelling its not the act of doing it person that was the mind broadening thing but merely the acceptance of the wonder that is this planet of ours. For some they can understand it via reading about it, others choose to ignore it and some have to go and experience it.

 

[William Dickbringer]

I get this a lot. People telling me to "get outside" and "travel the world". I also hear people say this to others. What the hell does this mean? What benefit is there to me in "traveling the world" and what are people actually telling me to do when they say this? Is this an insult?

I'd like to know what you think, so at this point you can stop reading. Here, I'm going to give the most representative example I have ever bore witness to but you don't have to read this part, its just an example from a youtube commenter so it's a little inane. Anyways, I had fun with this one, but here is the conversation with noncritical parts omitted if you have the patience to read it (the unsolicited travel advice is in red):

Spoiler: maximize if you want to see the conversation

Dude:

lol @ a guy's screename ID is "LiberalViewer" calling out anyone else on being "biased." This guy's propaganda and slick selectively edited videos show his true bias and being disingenuous.

Me:

"This guy's propaganda and slick selectively edited videos show his true bias and being disingenuous." slick and selectively edited videos? yes (but no one is saying that it isnt) biased? yes (not always a bad thing) disingenuous? no, it doesn't seem like it. This playlist is called "Fox News Bias" so uhm what exactly were you expecting? praise for Fox News? lolz

Dude:

Disingenuous? Yes it is. I think the person who created this video needs to stop obsessing over Fox News like the typical white gay male obsessive Andrew Sulivan blogger and get out more and see the world,go travel, same with you, it's a great world out there and you should travel and watching some videos online doesn't make you worldly or sophisticated or intellectual, which you are none of.

Me:

So is that an explanation of why he is disingenuous? Because you think it's obsessive and you don't approve? Well, it may be obsessive, but Einstein could be accused of being obsessive. That indictment isn't as damning as you think it is. And given the unprecedented influence FNews has, given that it is a political propaganda machine and not just a singular celebrity that you don't like, I think tedious scrutiny is not time wasted.

worldly? lolz that's right im not sophisticated or intellectual unless I've been to X number of tourist hotspots. i have to go take pictures of giant structures to understand their history. cuz ya know, nothing says worldly better then a photo album of foreigners and large pretty statues. lolz

Dude:

[ew Research Center did a study showing MSNBC is more biased than Fox News. Fox is propaganda? Hardly compared to the George Soros funded propaganda (Huffingtonpost, Moveon org, Media Matters, DailyKos, Snopes, Factcheck org, The Young Turks, Current TV, MSNBC) which all do the dirty work for the Obama White House and Valerie Jarret. I suggest you get off your parents computer and get a pasport and go tavel. Oh, and go help the poor for once instead of talking about it.

Me:

haha, I haven't even introduced myself yet, but you seem to have me all figured out. Well good job identifying the array of mainstream media outlets, congratulations, that is very clever in a hard hitting meta kind-a-way. However those are functionally entertainment outlets, not news. You and I probably have different conceptions of what constitutes news, but I see your point. And I agree with your allegations. Still wanna know about the disingenuous thing though lolz

Dude in a personal message sent:

What are your credentials and resume? I can tell you're another far left blogger and vlogger who has no real life experiences and resume so you created an nice convenient alter ego behind a computer under an anonymous screename with a nice shtick of acting like some intellectual to make up for the fact you lack any real substance in real life.

You are a product of this new global "youth movement" of liberal bloggers who think you are entitled to tax payers giving you things for "free" when you never worked or earned it. You are part of this MTV trendy Occupy Wallstreet pushed by multi-millionaire Hollywood celebrities and musicians who they themselves have nice financial advisors on Wallstreet like Russel Simmons, Jay Z, Beyonce, Bill Maher, John Stewart have.

If it wasn't for George Soros and the millions of dollars he wastes and throws out there wrecklessly funding extremist propaganda propaganda souces like Huffingtonpost, Media Matters, Moveon.org, DailyKos, Snopes, Factcheck.org, The Young Turks, Current TV, MSNBC then you wouldn't have any talking points. Those sources above provide you far left talking points since you can't compete in the open free markets against conservatives.

Bye, stay safe

To me, it seems this guy is working under the assumption that: traveling around the world = cure for ignorance. And it seems most people think this way. Like I'm going to learn things by observing impoverished foreigners or the carbon copy chain of wealthy countries. Is the difference between a hot dog, a felafel, and a croissant supposed to be enlightening?

We'll the only foreign country I've ever been to is (rural) Japan. But on several occasions I've met people who know less about the Isreali-Palestine conflict then I do yet have toured all over Israel.

well....I give him credit for not degerating to calling you a ****** and uttering a curse word every other sentence (so hard hard to a find a somewhat reasonable talker on the internet)
but yeah traveling does very little maybe if in the army or something could get different viewpoint of things but traveling in itself won't do much

What a depressing thread.

Seriously, travel. Get out there. Nothing is a substitute.

Seeing the world offers unparalleled perspective. Claiming that you don't understand why anyone would recommend travel is the point in itself; people who stay in one place and one culture for their entire lives have can't understand that.

That's not to say that where you are now is bad, or that your lifestyle is poor. I love the internet, and I like where I live. However, my perspective and worldview allow me to appreciate my life even more thanks to all the traveling I've done. This doesn't (necessarily) have anything to do with going somewhere bleak and poor and being thankful of what you have, either. Seeing other cultures that are equally affluent or fortunate will broaden your perspective just as much.

Of course, traveling is not equivalent to education, and a savvy internet user can be far more aware of news items and facts than someone who has visited dozens of countries, but those are two different points. Maybe the person with whom you were arguing sees travel as a prerequisite to intelligence, but I don't. That said, I am confounded by anyone intelligent who is perfectly content to stay in one small corner of the world for a lifetime. There is no substitute for experiencing different cultures in person.

Ultimately, you don't know what you're missing until you go. That doesn't mean you're guaranteed to enjoy it, of course, nor is it intended as an insult to say you're unaware of something, but refusing to try something out of an assumption of that thing's qualities is unfortunate.

I for one would love to travel the world but right now I have lack of resources too and the guy is using it badly it just came off as a way to say "I have no real way to explain my point but I can say this to get you off my back"