Homebodies

The renown eighteenth-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant, famous for his works on reason, was a notorious homebody who spent many years in his hometown of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad in Russia), following exacting routines. It was said that the locals around town could set their clocks by Kant’s actions. And yet he was the author of a series of travel guides! Kant understood an important principle that many people just don’t seem to get: it doesn’t matter that much where you go to do things, but rather what things you do wherever you are. I’ve come to be a believer in Kant’s (or Manny’s, as I like to call him) philosophy, at least that part of his philosophy reflected in his lifestyle. Especially in today’s world of digital cable TV, cell phones, Blockbuster Video, and the Internet with its e-mail, blogs, shopping, Wikipedia, and search engines, it’s becoming less and less necessary to go traveling all about in order to accomplish things. Still, I’m kind of disappointed that virtual reality technology hasn’t developed enough to where I can just slip on a helmet-like device and “transport” myself anywhere I have the machine programmed for. There’s got to be a huge demand for this: why hasn’t it exploded into the marketplace yet? I remember Disney World’s Carousel of Progress, where Grandma (in tomorrow’s world) is shown playing a virtual reality video game using special “goggles”.

There is an irony to traveling: although one often travels to get a sense of freedom and mobility, much of the time is spent confined and immobile, waiting in lines or for departure or arrival times. There are often prescribed tours, schedules, and routes that limit the traveler in both time and space to a much greater extent than if he had stayed home. Plus, the traveler is restricted, often severely, as to what he can take with him. Still, I recognize that there are certain places that my family and I want to go see, and I’m willing to forgo my comfort in the interest of the experience and new memories. But it still goes against my instincts!

Even when I’m traveling, I’m a bit of a homebody, but I think this may have more to do with common sense than personal predilection. I see no point in being shuttled around on whirlwind tours that give me no time to get a sense of the place that I am visiting. And usually, tours of that type are more expensive than just going someplace and staying there for a while (and really getting to know it).

I don’t need to go back centuries in time or even to another country to find an example of someone who, although a visionary, preferred a relatively “stationary” life. The late Isaac Asimov, author of about 500 books and confirmed New Yorker, was also a homebody. But his scope was a little different than “Manny’s”: “Ike” wrote books on a galactic scale!