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Can you really learn about human nature by removing yourself from the company of other humans? Henry David Thoreau thought it was a possibility and gave it a shot by moving to Walden Pond and completely isolating himself from other people. (He did bring his dirty laundry home for his mother to do, but hey—who wouldn't?)

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Author / Thoreau - Henry David Thoreau

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Transcript

00:00
Walden, a la Shmoop. Thoreau... is a bit of a tree-hugger.
00:11
In fact, he loves trees so much that we wouldn't be surprised if they did more than just hug.
00:18
Hey, as long as the tree is of age, who are we to judge?
00:21
In Walden, Thoreau embarks on an experiment to discover more about human nature...
00:26
...by pretty much barricading himself in a remote cabin near Walden Pond.

00:30
No telephone, no television, no Playstation.
00:36
Man, we hope he brought a deck of cards.
00:39
Okay, so there may not have been many electronic gadgets in his day...
00:43
...but even still, "spending quality time with a pond" probably wasn't on most of his
00:49
contemporaries' bucket lists. So... a valiant experiment... but can it work?
00:55
In other words... can you really learn about human nature...
00:58
...by removing yourself from the company of other humans?
01:02
We get what Thoreau was trying to do.
01:04
There were a lot of distractions in the world, even back then...
01:07
...and he was trying to get rid of all the emotional clutter, so he could really get
01:10
in touch with his inner self. So maybe he was onto something.
01:15
Maybe by giving himself time to sit, think and reflect...
01:18
...he had a chance to come to certain conclusions about life that other people didn't.
01:24
At the very least, he didn't have anyone banging down the bathroom door, demanding that he
01:28
spend less time on the toilet. But, although Thoreau retired to his cabin
01:32
to focus on nature, he didn't avoid human contact altogether.
01:37
Occasionally, he would have someone over, and would even go into town once in a while.
01:49
So was he just trying to learn about human nature by... cutting back on humans?
01:54
Almost like he was on a... "people" diet? It's possible he found a way to strike a good
02:03
balance...
02:04
...so that he could commune with Mother Nature without cutting himself off from society completely...
02:08
...or did he just have trouble spending every day, all day talking to his water lilies?
02:14
Then again, does spending time in nature teach us about... human nature?
02:19
Don't we need that daily interaction with other people to teach us about ourselves?
02:27
After all, the way we deal with others shapes the type of person we become.
02:32
If we had a domineering father, did we follow in his footsteps or rebel against him?
02:41
How did our first romantic rejection affect our view of love?
02:44
Did we let that woman who spit at us on the subway ruin our entire day?
02:50
So... we're glad that Thoreau was able to get a little R&R...
02:53
...but we wonder if he actually accomplished what he set out to accomplish.
02:59
Could enveloping himself in nature really help him learn more about the human condition?
03:05
Was the peace and quiet all he needed to arrive at some weighty revelations?
03:09
Was... reducing his daily people intake... and finding a balance... the answer?
03:14
Or was he on a fool's errand... futilely attempting to learn about the soul while surrounding
03:18
himself with shrubbery? Shmoop amongst yourselves.
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