web analytics
Skip to content

7 Comments

  1. Stu
    12 April 2020 @ 13:46

    Some great insights and writing Dan. I wonder how people would have reacted to the mention of Robert Smith – he sounds like a timeless character.

    Reply

    • Dan Calverley
      12 April 2020 @ 20:24

      Thank you, Stu! I think he might have slightly overestimated his own notoriety.

      Reply

  2. debbiedownes
    3 March 2020 @ 22:07

    I think when you talk about how “we fixate on dramatic but statistically unlikely events,” you are talking about the availability heuristic, coined by two Americans (Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman). We are not all paranoid of our southern neighbors or anything else– some of us study the paranoia and try to fight it:)

    Reply

    • Dan Calverley
      4 March 2020 @ 00:33

      Thanks for the great comment, Debbie! I think you’re right, the availability heuristic definitely plays a part here. I’ve come across Tversky and Kahneman – I’ve been meaning to read Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow on my Kindle for ages. Thanks for reminding me! You’re absolutely right, I don’t think all Americans are part of the collective paranoia. And I hope I portrayed how much kindness I benefitted from in USA in these stories. But ‘concern harassment’ was a significant feature of my experiences in USA, so I had to mention it. Keep fighting the good fight! Love, Dan

      Reply

  3. Uponthatfish
    2 March 2020 @ 23:18

    Great job.

    This question of fear of the unknown. I explain it as most people use their brains more than their senses, so they’re afraid of what they don’t know about. If you use your senses, then you are aware of your surroundings and are alert to danger, and only afraid when actually physically confronted.
    If you pay attention to what’s around you then you won’t be afraid. It’s only if you start worrying about your own safety that you will feel fear.
    And it’s much more dangerous if you exhibit fear.

    Also people are more dangerous if they are afraid of you. Which is why the traveller must know how to put people at ease. This is not so hard for me, when people see, ‘oh it’s just a little old lady’ – so nobody’s going to be afraid of me (except sometimes small children, especially in Africa where certain tales abound about white people)

    Reply

  4. Andy Metcalfe
    2 March 2020 @ 21:08

    Utterly stunning photo’s and an engrossing read! What a great world 🙂

    Reply

    • Dan Calverley
      2 March 2020 @ 22:29

      Thanks, Andy! I almost skipped writing about this part to catch up quickly, but I wanted to share the photos!

      Reply

Leave a Reply