The adage ‘travel broadens the mind‘ needs investigating. In this short piece I analyse if this truism is correct …
“But isn’t it brutally violent?” is a common observation when I reveal my next travel destination. A friend and travel agent, Dave rigorously shook my hand and announced, “it’s been nice knowing you” when learning of my intention to visit Honduras, a country that had (sadly) descended into violent chaos at the time. His handshake indicative of his somewhat jovial suggestion that I won’t be returning … alive!
Indeed a raised eyebrow is a familiar phenomenon from friends and acquaintances. It communicates displeasure and anxiety and, dare I say, jealousy of my travel intentions. I happily ignore the ridicule and surreptitiously embark on my next adventure nonetheless.
What’s the Attraction to ‘Off-The-Beaten-Track’ Territories?
Clichéd it may be, but immersing oneself in unfamiliar culture in unfamiliar surroundings can be electrifying and simultaneously unnerving. It’s this intensity that attracts me. And remember, travel is after all a political act. By soaking up a different culture, its customs and religious practices, you intentionally – or perhaps inadvertently – place yourself in a political position. A few times I have felt like an ambassador for the UK, representing my country as I engage with inquisitive locals. After all, broadening the mind can only happen when an understanding and connection is accomplished.
Travel Broadens the Mind – Myth or Reality?
I’m always amazed by the ignorance that is propagated about other people’s ethnology. It is true to say that this ignorance is perpetuated by a lack of understanding and in my experience the pub is the finest venue for this. Being an argumentative and sometimes aggressive person I regularly find myself engaging with an idiot, particularly after 7 – 8 pints of beer. Ideally I would like to catapult the culprit into the ‘big bad world’ to garner some experience of other peoples and their culture.
Sadly such people are disinclined to leave the comfort of the pub, let alone depart the solace of the country. And it’s these very people that could be enlightened by the ‘petrifying’ world beyond one’s own borders.
But in a way doesn’t this symbolise a misconception that the budding traveller has a mind far broader than somebody who doesn’t leave their own territory? After all, ignorance is fluid and is a feature of indifference or an unwillingness to learn or adapt. I shan’t forget an English tourist on the island of Majorca who insisted a restaurant owner understand the English language. “You thick foreigners!” was his remark. Unbeknown to him, he was the foreigner, not the owner, and dare I say also thick! It’s for this reason that I disagree with Rick Steve in his book, Travel as a Political Act:
“I believe the most powerful things an individual American can do … is to travel a lot, learn about the world, come home with a new perspective, and then work to help our country fit more comfortably and less fearlessly into this planet.” (1)
Travel Broadens the Mind … Fallacy!
Rick’s book is iconic, but it’s also idealistic and utopian. Many people who seek to broaden their minds by travelling will be disappointed by their experiences, and like the English tourist mentioned above, some people are simply unwilling to understand an alternative perception. Experience, and importantly, awareness cannot always be positive, and some individuals will always have pre-conceptions. It’s a delusion therefore that travel broadens the mind, or at least that it broadens the mind with only positive encounters.
Welcome to India: the Most Mind Broadening Country of All
“But they’re cunts, they’re all fucking cunts” was what an Indian/British friend bellowed at me when learning of my intention to visit India. Stunned, I enquired further. He was essentially indicating that as a Western tourist I would be the target of scams. His selection of language was rather colourful but he was nonetheless also correct that India has scam artists galore.
In three months of exploration around northern India with a focus on the Indian state of Rajhasthan I lost count of the negative interactions I had with locals. I was ridiculed and spat at, I was threatened with a knife, mildly attacked, intimidated, abused and terrorised. During a chat in a Varanasi hostel one evening I conveyed to a group of backpackers my horror stories and they reciprocated with their own stories of woe. Nonetheless I’m curious how many of these backpackers conveyed their experiences to friends when they arrived back in their home countries.
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A Broader Negative
But what does it mean to broaden the mind? Was my mind ‘broadened’ by my Indian travel experiences? The reality is that one can affirm for or against. In other words, by experiencing negativity over a prolonged period did I acquire a deeper and more profound understanding of the nature of humanity? If this proclamation is accurate then yes indeed these travel experiences have broadened my mind. But the antagonism I experienced can perpetuate a degree of hostility or reluctance that deters a burgeoning backpacker from his next adventure and can leave a permanent negative side-effect.
It’s Official! Travel Doesn’t Broaden the Mind
New research has revealed a gap-year could in fact damage job prospects and potentially lose you friends! According to the London Economic:
“Contrary to popular belief, the research found that nearly 60% of backpackers admitted their time spent travelling didn’t help them positively develop as a person while 28% thought they had changed for the better, but quickly reverted back to their old attitude when they returned to home soil.” (2)
In my own judgement travel can indeed broaden the mind. But broadening the mind is a subjective phrase and fails to understand that an experience that broadens the mind doesn’t only make you more willing to accept other people’s beliefs or customs, it can also illustrate reality. And reality is often sobering. My experiences of India emphasise this hypothesis. Touring much of the north of the country introduced me to Indian life both ancient and modern, and presented to me the propensity of what is currently wrong with the country. Mind broadening yes, a positive experience, no!
References:
1. Rick Steve’s Travel as a Political Act, Nation Books, 2009, P. 16
2. https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/travel/travel-broaden-mind-not-according-new-research/06/12/