Hermits around the web – Hermitary

Last year, 22 year old Greg Hindy embarked on a solitary year-long walk across the United States from his native New Hampshire to California, in silence. His journey is described in a Boston Globe article, which links to Greg’s website and Facebook pages maintained by his supportive father. The trek is an expression of performance art (Hindy’s chief possession being a large-format camera for documenting what he encounters), but also an experiment in mindfulness and meditation.

URL: http://www.boston.com/travel/destinations/2014/07/08/new-england-native-completes-year-long-silent-journey-foot/vyTYWSXjU270u2UFtKV79H/story.html

Many web sources are reporting this news item concerning students in a psychology experiment at the University of Virginia. In a version from ScienceAlert of Australia/New Zealand, the article is titled and subtitled: “People prefer electric shocks to quality alone time: Scientists reveal that being left alone with your thoughts is deeply unpleasant.” The Washington Post story title is: “Most men would rather shock themselves than be alone with their thoughts.” The original announcement in EurekaAlert reports:

Most people are just not comfortable in their own heads, according to a new psychological investigation led by the University of Virginia.

The investigation found that most would rather be doing something – possibly even hurting themselves – than doing nothing or sitting alone with their thoughts, said the researchers, whose findings will be published July 4 in the journal Science.

In a series of 11 studies, U.Va. psychologist Timothy Wilson and colleagues at U.Va. and Harvard University found that study participants from a range of ages generally did not enjoy spending even brief periods of time alone in a room with nothing to do but think, ponder or daydream. The participants, by and large, enjoyed much more doing external activities such as listening to music or using a smartphone. Some even preferred to give themselves mild electric shocks than to think.

URL: EurekaAlert – http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-07/uov-dsi063014.php
ScienceAlert – http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20140507-25820.html
Washington Post – http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/07/03/most-men-would-rather-shock-themselves-than-be-alone-with-their-thoughts/

Alvah Dunnning (1816-1902) was a Adirondacks Mountains (NY) guide skilled in tracking and hunting. He is unfortunately credited with exterminating the presence of wolves and moose in the Adirondacks.

Dunning was a fierce recluse, stereotypically cantankerous, temperamental, and hard to get along with, according to A History of the Adirondacks by Alfred L. Donaldson, published in 1921. Dunning disliked people, especially women and the wealthy urbanites who hired him as a guide and would not consume what they killed.

Dunning’s death is ironic: he stayed in a New York City home overnight while attending a trade show, and in his ignorance had blown out the bedroom gas lamp. He died of asphyxiation.

URL: http://www.adirondackhistory.org/newguides/dunning.html