6 ms·

I was surprised that a bus needed to be removed because it was dangerous. Apparently you have to cross a river to get to it -- that was killing people. The sto

by scythe 6y ago

I was surprised that a bus needed to be removed because it was dangerous. Apparently you have to cross a river to get to it -- that was killing people. The stories of McCandless's journey suggest that we should consider the psychology of self-harm and suicide when we ask about his motivations. He ignored even the most basic precautions, which considering his education and age should reveal something other than mere stupidity. He seemed to want to put himself at risk of harm -- leaving food behind, refusing assistance from locals, and not even learning to preserve meat, so the animals he killed could not feed him. It seems like his being at constant risk of death by starvation and exposure was not an accident.

cowboysauce 6y ago
I think you're drastically underestimating how stupid and over-confident people can be. He had a college education, but that doesn't teach you the survival skills needed to live in the wilderness. McCandless spent a few years bumming around the United states before traveling to Alaska which likely gave him a false sense of security in his survival abilities. Most people living in western nations have no idea of how unforgiving the wilderness can be, nor do they understand the amount of effort that it can take to survive. The amount of tourists who think that national parks are just the outdoor equivalent of Disney Land is shocking.
- WalterBright 6y ago
  > He had a college education, but that doesn't teach you the survival skills needed to live in the wilderness. I can vouch for that. I don't even know how to set a snare or how to prepare a rabbit if I caught one.
  - selimthegrim 6y ago
    The "SAS Survival Handbook" of the late 80s-early 90s by Lofty Wiseman is calling your name...
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  The book made it clear that during his few years bumming around, he made plenty of mistakes too. Luckily, then, he had other people around to bail him out.
yardie 6y ago
> considering his education and age should reveal something other than mere stupidity. College will prepare you for some things, outdoor survival isn't one of them.
- jxramos 6y ago
  Ha, I thought only technical knowledge requires intelligence. Besides... “I could teach anybody … to be a farmer. … You dig a hole, you put a seed in, you put dirt on top, add water, up comes the corn.”. The old Asimov mechanic story comes to mind too https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2884684 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2884684
sinker 6y ago
My feeling was that he preferred not to think about it, that the careful, fastidious planning of the trip, that nearly any reasonable person would commit to, would detract from the experience. He was naive, but I think he also willfully entered into the venture with intentional naivety.

by scythe 6y ago

cowboysauce 6y ago

I think you're drastically underestimating how stupid and over-confident people can be. He had a college education, but that doesn't teach you the survival skills needed to live in the wilderness. McCandless spent a few years bumming around the United states before traveling to Alaska which likely gave him a false sense of security in his survival abilities. Most people living in western nations have no idea of how unforgiving the wilderness can be, nor do they understand the amount of effort that it can take to survive. The amount of tourists who think that national parks are just the outdoor equivalent of Disney Land is shocking.

WalterBright 6y ago
> He had a college education, but that doesn't teach you the survival skills needed to live in the wilderness. I can vouch for that. I don't even know how to set a snare or how to prepare a rabbit if I caught one.
- selimthegrim 6y ago
  The "SAS Survival Handbook" of the late 80s-early 90s by Lofty Wiseman is calling your name...
082349872349872 6y ago
The book made it clear that during his few years bumming around, he made plenty of mistakes too. Luckily, then, he had other people around to bail him out.

yardie 6y ago

> considering his education and age should reveal something other than mere stupidity. College will prepare you for some things, outdoor survival isn't one of them.

jxramos 6y ago
Ha, I thought only technical knowledge requires intelligence. Besides... “I could teach anybody … to be a farmer. … You dig a hole, you put a seed in, you put dirt on top, add water, up comes the corn.”. The old Asimov mechanic story comes to mind too https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2884684 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2884684

sinker 6y ago

My feeling was that he preferred not to think about it, that the careful, fastidious planning of the trip, that nearly any reasonable person would commit to, would detract from the experience. He was naive, but I think he also willfully entered into the venture with intentional naivety.