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The same thing could be said for many costly (in terms of either time or money) journeys: hiking the AT, biking across the world, to name two. In these cases, o
by moab 8y ago
The same thing could be said for many costly (in terms of either time or money) journeys: hiking the AT, biking across the world, to name two. In these cases, others have made these voyages thousands of times before, but that doesn't stop people from making these trips.
By the way, I think you're misreading the piece---I don't get the impression that these men are making these trips for vanity.
- tootie 8y agoBiking across the country is rarely a risk to your life. You can escape at any point with a phone call. The Antarctic trek resulted in a slow and costly airlift that was too late. I don't think they think they're doing it for vanity. It's my accusation.
- kisstheblade 8y agoIf you have to tell other people about your trips then it is (also) for vanity. Nobody does these extreme trips and doesn't tell about them to anybody.
- RugnirViking 8y agoArtists usually show their pieces to at least some other people, yet many paint for internal contentment - we are fundamentally a social species. A large part of experiencing something is showing it to other people to seek their opinion/approval - especially if it had a large impact on a person. More to the point, beyond simply surviving, why do anything? What is life's goal? I would put it to you that many people like this were raised in such a way that their internal contentment and pride comes from this kind of thing: they judge people and more importantly themselves on the experiences they have had and the joy they get from it. They feel a need to share to get some of this joy - usually with loved ones and friends, but sometimes wider. This is not a bad thing: People often also have a need to hear about others' experiences - hence books, videos, and you being here on hacker news.