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Strange stuff happens in the wilderness. Strange beasts sighted. People disappear. Some say that it's because what we call "reality" is, to a significant degre
by swayvil 10y ago
Strange stuff happens in the wilderness. Strange beasts sighted. People disappear.
Some say that it's because what we call "reality" is, to a significant degree, conjured into being by our collective attention. So the edge of the collective (civilization or whatever) is the edge of reality.
- paulddraper 10y agoSounds like a Twilight Zone opening monologue.
- maxerickson 10y agoI think vastness has a lot more to do with people not being found than anything strange.
- simplyluke 10y agoAgreed. The sad but likely explanation for most of these disappearances is that they simply became lost and succumbed to elements within a few days, or injured themselves and became immobilized. When there's no one for miles and miles in any direction, you're very much on your own.
- ghaff 10y agoOnce you get off a trail, it's very easy to get disoriented and lost, especially if you can't see major landmarks to orient yourself by. Quite a few years ago, before smartphones and handheld GPSs, I went to take a walk from where I was staying to a relatively nearby lighthouse on the coast. I didn't take a compass with me and, as soon as I walked into some woods, I very quickly realized that I had gotten disoriented and wasn't sure which direction I had come from. I did find my way out really quickly but it was really a "well, that was dumb" moment and a realization that if you step off a trail into the woods you could end up getting very lost very easily.
- simplyluke 10y agoThere was a nature preserve at the end of my block growing up. Maybe 2x2 miles of light woods with a creek and some minor trails. I explored it regularly and often had to find my way home by walking in a straight line to the edge of the woods (where there would be recognizable streets in the town). When I'm backcountry I always have a GPS and good maps. You can lose a trail walking 100 yards off it to check something out.
- ghaff 10y ago>often had to find my way home by walking in a straight line Which often isn't straightforward, especially in uneven terrain. "Walking in circles" may be a cliche but it definitely happen when you don't have a distant point to lock onto.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- Xeoncross 10y agoAs an American, I am realizing more and more that the world doesn't (and never has historically) had the "Disneyland" mindset I seem to have grown up with living in the wealthiest parts of the wealthiest countries in the world. Forget the big things like War, Hunger, and Torture - even just the personal independence (from family / society) or freedom (ability to do what you want, when you want) aspects of our nation are a strange notion to history.
- overcast 10y agoAre you a Daemon Operative?
- NotSammyHagar 10y agowhat does that mean?
- overcast 10y agoNice try!
- frikk 10y agoI love your last stanza. I keep re-reading it.
- justinpombrio 10y agoThere's a story by Borges based on this premise. Fortunately the world doesn't work like that, because it paints a somewhat disturbing picture. http://art.yale.edu/file_columns/0000/0066/borges.pdf http://art.yale.edu/file_columns/0000/0066/borges.pdf
- goda90 10y agoThese kinds of accounts remind me of one of the top series on the nosleep subreddit about search and rescue[0]. There are definitely paranormal embellishments to the tales, but a lot of it just plays on the possible but strange things that happen in the wilderness. It's generally well written and worth a read if you like being creeped out a bit. [0]https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/3iex1h/im_a_search_and_rescue_officer_for_the_us_forest/ https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/3iex1h/im_a_search...