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A Man Who Has Lived Alone on an Island for 28 Years

nationalgeographic.com

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Re: A Man Who Has Lived Alone on an Island for 28 Years

#21

Post by Rodeoclash »

eej71 wrote: post #20
Rodeoclash wrote: post #17

I read another diary online from a man who lived alone on one of the pacific islands. I want to to say that it was in the 1970s but I can't be sure. I think he was originally a New Zealander. It was fascinating reading, describing how the wild pigs on the island would eat his freshly planted vegetable garden and how he hid up a tree at night until they showed up before leaping down to kill one of them. Also the regre…

You are probably thinking of this guy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neale

That was it. The site that I read the story on was here:

http://www.janesoceania.com/suvarov_tom_neale/index.htm

If you can look past the garish design of the site, it's great reading.

Re: A Man Who Has Lived Alone on an Island for 28 Years

#23

Post by rhapsodic »

chrisblackwell wrote: post #8

I find these stories about people like this exhilarating. I think we all yearn to do this, and yet few of us do.

> I find these stories about people like this exhilarating. I think we all yearn to do this, and yet few of us do.

I disagree. I think humans are social animals, and people like this -- who choose to live in isolation for an extended period of time -- are an aberration.

Re: A Man Who Has Lived Alone on an Island for 28 Years

#24

Post by deleted_account »

The article definitely appeals to anyone with a Robinson Crusoe fantasy. Framed less generously, you could be reading about a squatter on public land supported by bi-weekly food shipments.

Somewhat related, the homesteading culture is pretty vibrant and full of tech savvy folks like Jaimie Mantzel. His island fortress series is fascinating: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1p7jFXjL7Q0qMii08oAeAQ

Re: A Man Who Has Lived Alone on an Island for 28 Years

#25

Post by evincarofautumn »

himom wrote: post #18

Also, a Japanese guy has lived on an island “alone” for roughly the same time: Japan’s Naked Island Hermit: VICE INTL (2014) https://youtu.be/ZBtBePnUOZU The thing is there are varying degrees of hermitage and a true hermit obviously doesn’t give interviews. ;)

Wow, that was inspiring and moving. Excuse me, I need to go outside…

Re: A Man Who Has Lived Alone on an Island for 28 Years

#27

Post by Jaruzel »

tbtowzhtow wrote: post #26

Isn’t this article months old? Why is it relevant today?

It's only been posted twice to HN, today and 15 days ago. Both times by the same person. They obviously thought it was interesting, and by the fact it's now on the HN front page, [probably] means that the HN community found it interesting also. HN is not a current-news site; posts should be [from the FAQ]:

Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.

Re: A Man Who Has Lived Alone on an Island for 28 Years

#28

Post by tmnvix »

deleted_account wrote: post #24

The article definitely appeals to anyone with a Robinson Crusoe fantasy. Framed less generously, you could be reading about a squatter on public land supported by bi-weekly food shipments. Somewhat related, the homesteading culture is pretty vibrant and full of tech savvy folks like Jaimie Mantzel. His island fortress series is fascinating: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1p7jFXjL7Q0qMii08oAeAQ

> Framed less generously, you could be reading about a squatter on public land supported by bi-weekly food shipments.

You could, but that description sounds misleading enough to be verging on dishonest. He is not simply squatting, but has a role on the island - a role that he filled after the previous caretaker retired.

Re: A Man Who Has Lived Alone on an Island for 28 Years

#29

Post by tbtowzhtow »

Jaruzel wrote: post #27
tbtowzhtow wrote: post #26

Isn’t this article months old? Why is it relevant today?

It's only been posted twice to HN, today and 15 days ago. Both times by the same person. They obviously thought it was interesting, and by the fact it's now on the HN front page, [probably] means that the HN community found it interesting also. HN is not a current-news site; posts should be [from the FAQ]: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to r…

First time, no comments. Just an observation.

Re: A Man Who Has Lived Alone on an Island for 28 Years

#30

Post by subpixel »

rhapsodic wrote: post #23
chrisblackwell wrote: post #8

I find these stories about people like this exhilarating. I think we all yearn to do this, and yet few of us do.

> I find these stories about people like this exhilarating. I think we all yearn to do this, and yet few of us do. I disagree. I think humans are social animals, and people like this -- who choose to live in isolation for an extended period of time -- are an aberration.

Many people are attracted by the idea of living in isolation, but few people stick it out. I think this guy on an island that is not very far from civilization (including grocery delivery and the occasional cruising sailboat) strikes a balance more of us could grow accustomed to. Personally, I'm pretty sure my wife and I would sign up to take his spot tomorrow.
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