4 ms·

“Why doesn’t he seem to be fazed by more than a year of absolute isolation?” This line from the review reads much differently in 2021 than it would have in 201

“Why doesn’t he seem to be fazed by more than a year of absolute isolation?” This line from the review reads much differently in 2021 than it would have in 2015.

meowster 5y ago
Some people are just built that way. I imagine many people here on HN could cope with isolation pretty well (I know I can). I imagine that's something NASA would have screened for too in its Mars mission selection.
Jtsummers 5y ago
There's isolation and absolute isolation. Most people haven't gone full hermit and cut themselves off from the outside world. Between phones (calling, texting), chat apps (discord, slack), video chat (zoom, FaceTime, Google whateveritscalledthisweek) few people today experiences absolute isolation in the way the character does in the book (for a very extended period). Physical isolation is one thing, and may be intolerable to many, but social isolation is another. Not even having another person to speak to, let alone text with, for weeks/months at a time is very different than what most people experienced through the various shutdowns and social distancing efforts.
- pfarrell 5y ago
  True. I got it in my head to try to walk the Appalachian Trail after college (decided to wait until later in life). One of the things recommended to me in training was to camp in isolation for 4 or 5 days. By the last day, I was a little edgy and started imagining someone was in my campsite late at night. And that's with the safety net knowing I could just walk a couple miles out of the woods back to my car and civilization.
  - RandallBrown 5y ago
    Did you end up doing it? I've found that thru-hiking is actually one of the most social endeavors one can undertake.
    - pfarrell 5y ago
      I did not. That social aspect makes sense. It’s a pretty popular endeavor, from what I’ve gathered. I remember reading a book on how to do it (recipes, packing, prep). I recall that book saying that many hikers do it before starting their careers or right after retirement. I recently moved somewhat closer, so it’s starting to get back in my thoughts. Maybe do it in chunks. It sounds like you might have done it. Any thoughts?
      - RandallBrown 5y ago
        I did the PCT, not the AT, but if it's something you're interested in you absolutely should do it. It's hard to find a time in your life that works but I quit my job and it was absolutely worth it. Doing it in chunks is fine and works for some people but doing it all at once is a completely different experience unlike anything else.
- NikolaeVarius 5y ago
  Social isolation was great. No distractions
  - hervature 5y ago
    You're on a social media website. You were not socially isolated. That is the entire point of the parent's comment.
    - NikolaeVarius 5y ago
      By that definition Mark was not socially isolated, since he had earth communication. He was even effectively live twitch streaming his life.
      - hervature 5y ago
        Are you really equivocating being on a planet with high latency and low bandwidth download and essentially zero upload to being inside with your family/pets/Slack/email/iDevice? You are again totally missing the point that you were not isolated from other people for a year.
        NikolaeVarius 5y ago
        Yep. I didn't talk to anyone for months. Was on solo backpacking trip. It was great. Also the initial point was about total isolation, he was not totally isolated, he had better bandwidth and latency than 1800s mail.
        frosted-flakes 5y ago
        The entire latter half of the book he is completely isolated and cannot receive communications from Earth. He could send messages via Morse code, but that was it.
      - Jtsummers 5y ago
        Mark had no communication for some extended period at the start of the novel. And it wasn't even voluntary isolation (like you might have here on Earth assuming you're not in prison or stuck on a remote island) where he opts not to use the communication tools. He flat out didn't have access to it and was absolutely isolated in a way that 99.99999% of modern humans have not experienced.
lubujackson 5y ago
Worth mentioning that, at a minimum, he is an astronaut specifically chosen and psychologically trained and prepared for a multi-year to mission to Mars. He shouldn't have normal human reactions and given that his situation never turns truly hopeless, he has been trained to keep working the mission as well as he can. Also, though he is isolated, he knows everything he does and discovers will be eventually found, analyzed and made useful by NASA and future space travellers. All of this can provide a sense of greater social connection that can keep him motivated to keep going.

“Why doesn’t he seem to be fazed by more than a year of absolute isolation?” This line from the review reads much differently in 2021 than it would have in 2015.

meowster 5y ago

Some people are just built that way. I imagine many people here on HN could cope with isolation pretty well (I know I can). I imagine that's something NASA would have screened for too in its Mars mission selection.

Jtsummers 5y ago

There's isolation and absolute isolation. Most people haven't gone full hermit and cut themselves off from the outside world. Between phones (calling, texting), chat apps (discord, slack), video chat (zoom, FaceTime, Google whateveritscalledthisweek) few people today experiences absolute isolation in the way the character does in the book (for a very extended period). Physical isolation is one thing, and may be intolerable to many, but social isolation is another. Not even having another person to speak to, let alone text with, for weeks/months at a time is very different than what most people experienced through the various shutdowns and social distancing efforts.

pfarrell 5y ago
True. I got it in my head to try to walk the Appalachian Trail after college (decided to wait until later in life). One of the things recommended to me in training was to camp in isolation for 4 or 5 days. By the last day, I was a little edgy and started imagining someone was in my campsite late at night. And that's with the safety net knowing I could just walk a couple miles out of the woods back to my car and civilization.
- RandallBrown 5y ago
  Did you end up doing it? I've found that thru-hiking is actually one of the most social endeavors one can undertake.
  - pfarrell 5y ago
    I did not. That social aspect makes sense. It’s a pretty popular endeavor, from what I’ve gathered. I remember reading a book on how to do it (recipes, packing, prep). I recall that book saying that many hikers do it before starting their careers or right after retirement. I recently moved somewhat closer, so it’s starting to get back in my thoughts. Maybe do it in chunks. It sounds like you might have done it. Any thoughts?
    - RandallBrown 5y ago
      I did the PCT, not the AT, but if it's something you're interested in you absolutely should do it. It's hard to find a time in your life that works but I quit my job and it was absolutely worth it. Doing it in chunks is fine and works for some people but doing it all at once is a completely different experience unlike anything else.
NikolaeVarius 5y ago
Social isolation was great. No distractions
- hervature 5y ago
  You're on a social media website. You were not socially isolated. That is the entire point of the parent's comment.
  - NikolaeVarius 5y ago
    By that definition Mark was not socially isolated, since he had earth communication. He was even effectively live twitch streaming his life.
    - hervature 5y ago
      Are you really equivocating being on a planet with high latency and low bandwidth download and essentially zero upload to being inside with your family/pets/Slack/email/iDevice? You are again totally missing the point that you were not isolated from other people for a year.
      - NikolaeVarius 5y ago
        Yep. I didn't talk to anyone for months. Was on solo backpacking trip. It was great. Also the initial point was about total isolation, he was not totally isolated, he had better bandwidth and latency than 1800s mail.
        frosted-flakes 5y ago
        The entire latter half of the book he is completely isolated and cannot receive communications from Earth. He could send messages via Morse code, but that was it.
    - Jtsummers 5y ago
      Mark had no communication for some extended period at the start of the novel. And it wasn't even voluntary isolation (like you might have here on Earth assuming you're not in prison or stuck on a remote island) where he opts not to use the communication tools. He flat out didn't have access to it and was absolutely isolated in a way that 99.99999% of modern humans have not experienced.

lubujackson 5y ago

Worth mentioning that, at a minimum, he is an astronaut specifically chosen and psychologically trained and prepared for a multi-year to mission to Mars. He shouldn't have normal human reactions and given that his situation never turns truly hopeless, he has been trained to keep working the mission as well as he can. Also, though he is isolated, he knows everything he does and discovers will be eventually found, analyzed and made useful by NASA and future space travellers. All of this can provide a sense of greater social connection that can keep him motivated to keep going.