The article reminds me of a cute saying about getting "exercise" in a corporate environment, "People think a person walking with purpose has a purpose for walking."
The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)
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Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
I walk aimlessly from time to time, but I don't see that many people do it. There are far more people that do it in other countries, and I assume that was the case in the United States earlier.
The aimless walk seems alive and well in most of the major cities I've been to. Get up before noon and talk a walk and the streets are filled with people strolling along with babies, walking dogs, or just hanging out with someone.
It's pretty much dead in the suburbs. I only see people with dogs and babies. At this point it gains an aim and ceases being aimless.
Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)
#93Walking is, I think, a combination of habit and culture. Both sets of my grandparents, from opposite ends of the country, used to walk quite a lot without any real purpose for doing so. They did this well into their 80s, and so did their friends. It seemed just to be something they did, and always had done. My parents, by contrast, almost never walk when they can drive, and will often drive to a park to let their dog…
I think location is also a big factor here. I've lived in multiple parts of the US, and most of it is simply designed against walking. I enjoy taking casual walks, but when I lived in the midwest, I had to drive to a park to walk. There were no sidewalks, and the streets were dangerous for pedestrians (lots of blind curves, speeding cars, etc). It always frustrated me that I had to take a vehicle to go for a walk.
Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)
#94There were times in my life (thesis writing) where I'd go and sit in the library all day to work and come home in the early evening. The psychological stress on me during that time was tremendous. Every evening, after coming home, I'd have a small dinner and then go for a one-hour walk, always the same route. At that time, I lived in a small town, and my route would take me down a dead-end street, across another one,…
> Sure enough, in no time, they get stopped by the cops who inquire what the heck the are doing! They weren't walking on the road or in any otherwise dangerous fashion -- but apparently in that area, just being out and about on foot was enough of a reason to be considered suspicious. :-)
...and sometimes this attitude of "people who are walking around are suspicious" can lead to pretty dire consequences if your skin is the wrong color: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/indian-grandfather...
Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
Really depends where you are walking in Atlanta and if you look out of place. Where they walking in the road or look confused? Certain areas can be no loitering zones. Other areas are known drug zones and you can be arrested for going there without a clear purpose.
>Other areas are known drug zones and you can be arrested for going there without a clear purpose. How could this be a lawful arrest?
Let's say your a drug addict but don't happen to have anything on you, they look you up and your background has prior arrest for drugs. Maybe you look like your on drugs and have all the tell tale signs. In this case your gonna go to jail.
What if you're a tourist or someone who got lost trying to go to find Ikea. They would hassle you and most likely give you a lecture then lead you out of the area.
These types of areas have signs. If you are interested why they have such areas watch Snow on the Bluff, it's a very accurate depiction.
Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)
#96I walk insane lengths as it clears the mind and fosters creativity. I talk into my phone during that; either to colleagues or to a recorder and then type it in at home (no, speech to text does not work; if someone wants to work with me to get that working, that would be great but for now, it does not even work a bit; only gibberish comes out; it seems to have something to do with my way of talking which I am trying t…
> I want to be able to program while walking... That's why Google glasses got me excited, as it's a step towards that direction. I don't see this being too viable until I can control the computer with my thoughts, though, so we need the microchip in the brain (or something similar) still too. But then I could work outside, walk while working, not be tethered to a desk or table all day. Can't wait for that time, hopef…
> I want to be able to program while walking...
Won't help the "bus factor"...
Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)
#97There's regularly articles in Norwegian newspapers about how weird the Norwegian culture of purposeless walking is to foreigners and tourists, so it's probably not dead in Norway at least.
> Norwegian culture of purposeless walking
Is this Hiking?
Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)
#98I love walking, but this article really bothers me, so I'm going to get a little sarcastic. Am I the only one who finds this entire article incredibly ironic? The author is trying to defend "purposeless" walking, but which is actually very purposeful! The loss of 'purposeless' walking is seen by the author as a loss of Creative Thinking. We're so busy with other smaller tasks, we're not setting aside enough time (like we used too, in the good ol' days) to think up all our really valuable thoughts! It would be one thing if they highlighted the relaxation, health benefits, de-stressing, etc., of walking, but that is clearly not the point: rattling off a list of Great Minds, and their Great Achievements whom we would benefit from emulating. The point of the article clearly is not to get people to take more breaks or curb their their obsession with work. Really it's a sneaky backdoor lifehack sermon: you're not good enough or creative enough, and you should pencil in some mindful unstructured time into their schedule to boost your Really Important thinking output by 10-15%.
Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)
#99I have a 35 minute walking commute in Boston, through the public gardens, which can be very beautiful. While it's not aimless, it does seem to have offer of the benefits that I get from aimless walking, which I also do fairly often. A walking commute I see as my biggest job perk.
I'm always saddened to see so many people talking on their cell phones on my commute, especially in the public garden. It seems they either have no appreciation for walking or, worse, they're afraid to be alone with themselves.
Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)
#100I tend to bite my nails, especially when I'm programming or deep in thought. Last year I decided to start walking whenever I reach that point where I am fidgeting and can't sit still. It's totally changed the way I work for the better. I walk between 10-20 miles per day, and can get a lot of work done on those walks. Highly recommended, especially for people living in places with good weather and beautiful scenery.
I can see walking 10-20 miles a day being detrimental to your health long term. Knees, feet, hips, somethings gonna give. Good cushioned footwear and insoles is a must to limit the damage at that range.
Running maybe (and I say that as a runner myself) but even then the jury's pretty much out.
I'd imagine that spending the few hours it takes to walk 10-20 miles sitting instead would be far worse to long term health.