Travel yields little the traveler did not already possess perceptively
Evidence
In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s day, every well-to-do Bostonian looked forward towhatwas called “the grand tour” of Europe.To such friends, on their departure, the sage of Concord gave his affectionate blessing and Godspeed. But he noted in his journal that they were not likely to bring back anything of great value that they did not take abroad with them. Henry David Thoreau echoed the philosophy when he remarked that the whole world was in Concord. All disappointments in our use of leisure time arise from this blunt truism. — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 661
Categorization
- XREF: The interpretive premise echoing ch17 ‘visitors arrive with motives’ and that experiencing requires preparedness; a framing device for why interpretation matters. — connects to: Every viewer, sighted included, perceives only a fraction of what nature offers — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 705; Travelers’ prior imaginings shape what they see more than observation does. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 450; Travelers’ firsthand experience could not overturn their Orientalist fantasies (+5 more)
Broader Connections
- Travelers’ prior imaginings shape what they see more than observation does.
#corroborates(0.90) — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 450 - Even direct travel failed to dispel travelers’ romanticized image of the East.
#exemplifies(0.90) — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 45 - Travelers’ firsthand experience could not overturn their Orientalist fantasies
#exemplifies(0.88) - Actual travel experience leaves Orientalist preconceptions entirely undisturbed
#exemplifies(0.88) — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 493 - Merely traveling abroad does not transform cognition, but deep adaptation does
#qualifies(0.85) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2234 - Living abroad boosts creativity but mere travel does not
#qualifies(0.82) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2249 - Risk-averse preference for the known can make travel pointless
#qualifies(0.75) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 475