Why should you travel?
In my opinion, it’s a Black Swan Event.
What the hell is a Black Swan Event? No, it has nothing to do with that silly movie. The logic goes much deeper than a dancing company. The idea goes to mathematics, hence my interest and the relation to trading.
The idea behind this post has been circling in my brain for the past few months. With the recent circulation of a YouTube video asking people to solve a number sequence which quasi explains a Black Swan Event, I feel now more than ever is the right time to dive into this topic. If you haven’t seen that video yet, check it out here. Yes, watch the whole thing.
Although the explanation in this video is quick, it does spark curiosity to most; or maybe that’s just me, the same guy who wrote a 30 page thesis on the topic.
Although the idea of a Black Swan Event has been around for centuries, it was mainstreamed by Nasim Taleb, the author of The Black Swan. If you haven’t read it, do yourself a huge favor and go buy it right now. In an attempt to keep this simple (much like the YouTube video) a Black Swan Event is an event that is likely discounted to happen, but if it does happen, the repercussions are huge. In mathematical terms, this is a statistically significant event; plus three sigmas.
Back in 16th century, the term Black Swan was used to express impossibility. It makes sense, after all. In the 16th century, all swans were believed to be white in color. With every sighting of a white swan, within the European region, it reinforced the idea that all swans were white. This was all fine and well until black swans were discovered in Australia. Mind. Blown. Black swans do exist. Entire Black Swan theory tossed out the window in an instant.
Who cares about white swans, black swans, or brown swans? If you’re asking yourself this question, then you missed the point. The point is that if beliefs that were once thought to be impossible happen, then shit hits the fan for better or worse. All pilots are trustworthy until flight MH370 happens. Then what? The pilot is immediately thrown under the bus, and who knows if we can ever trust a pilot again. See, all the sudden we have a paradigm shift in the way we think.
This is the same with traveling the world.
Back home in the US, UK, Canada, or wherever you might be reading this, you find yourself complaining about download speed, poor cell phone reception, traffic, and the list goes on. Then you go traveling. When traveling the world in a less Westernized country, you see how lucky (aka spoiled) you really are. In the West, you don’t have to go fetch your own water. You don’t have chickens hanging by the neck from your front porch. You don’t walk miles to collect firewood.You don’t rely on a fire for warmth or a cool breeze to cool you off in the midst of the summer heat. These are all things I have seen in my short time traveling. This makes you appreciate what you have. It makes you thankful.
- Swipe left/right to see more
-
-
I know, I know, this is the “I walked 10 miles uphill both ways to school, in the snow!” story. Nope, I’ll beat that argument with numbers.
Here is where it gets interesting. As little as 3% of Americans travel abroad for leisure in a given year. That is statistically significant in itself. Hell, of Brittany and I’s parents, only my father has traveled abroad and even then it was to Westernized countries (Belize, Bon Aire, Canada). Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with traveling to Westernized countries. We strongly support any sort of travel. We want to see it all! But when you really immerse yourself into a completely foreign and unfamiliar culture, it opens your eyes. It opens your mind. It humbles you. It makes you appreciate the little things. It makes you less materialistic. You learn. You learn more from 10 days in Cambodia than you learned in your entire college career. Traveling makes you a well-rounded person.
Standard Normal Distribution Chart. More on this in future post, Why Markets Are NOT Random.
I suppose for Americans its most difficult because of the lack of time. Two weeks off per year is not exactly a lot of time, especially when traveling to a destination takes a significant amount of time. However, I feel everyone needs to make travel a priority in life. We only get one go-round in this game of life, so don’t you want to see as much of the world as possible?
Not only will you find traveling fulfilling personally, but you will be surprised how many contacts you meet along the way. Additionally, traveling the world gives you perspective. Perspective that may be helpful in your career back home. When you see how other people do things, maybe you find a better way to do something or maybe you can improve on an idea or system.
Don’t get me wrong, traveling is not all rainbows and butterflies. There are certainly sacrifices to be made. But, in my opinion, these sacrifices are more than worth it. So get out there, be a +3 sigma event, be the 3% that has the guts to go abroad.
Where do you want to go?
