0008: SHORT FEEDBACK LOOPS ON ADVENTURES
Short Feedback Loops On Adventures
313 words, < 2 minutes
The longer the gap between action and feedback, the easier it is for lessons to get lost. The easier it is for us to get lost.
If we want to learn, we need short feedback loops that challenge us to grow. Adventures in nature are powerful teachers because we receive objective, immediate, and clear feedback on our experiences. It is also obvious that we are directly responsible for our actions. Try telling the clouds to stop raining because we forgot our rain jackets. That didn’t work? Oh right, next time, prepare for the rain.
If you are reading this, you probably value experiential education and learning in nature. We know we learn best through experience. Yet, how often do we push ourselves out of our comfort zone on new adventures?
Adventures are a fantastic learning tool because we face a constant stream of new experiences. We can’t hide, blame, pretend, or mindlessly navigate a familiar routine. Instead, adventures help us learn quickly about what is and isn’t working because we are surrounded by relentless and immediate feedback. The success and failure of our actions are self-reinforcing.
We don’t just learn that we shouldn’t pee into the wind. We learn to respect the wind and work with it instead of against it. Or, we might even learn to look beyond ourselves before making a decision. Short feedback loops combined with reflection lead to more generalizable knowledge that we can test in more situations.
When we open ourselves to adventure, we thrive on short feedback loops and become addicted to learning. Our theory is that adventures feel life-changing and inspiring because growth happens quickly and in unexpected ways. We step into the unknown and learn more about the world, ourselves, and others than we could have ever imagined, and gain greater confidence to try new things. Short feedback loops are the secret superpower of adventure.
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ADVENTURE ALMANAC EPISODE 6
Space Elk and the First GPS
The first episode of Season 2 of the Adventure Almanac is available wherever you listen to podcasts. The story is about the first living thing tracked from space and a brief adventure involving a team of researchers, Monique, and a herd of elk in the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, WY.
Listen Now: Apple Podcast | Spotify
We worked with students from UNC-Chapel Hill to create original music for every episode in Season 2. Once you listen to the story, check out the original artwork, bibliography, map, musician, and bonus story details on the episode page.
LINKS FOR ADVENTURE NERDS
A MOMENT IN TIME AROUND THE WORLD
From 1909 to 1931, Albert Kahn sent photographers to record autochrome photography images of daily life around the world. It was a time of rapid modernizations, and Kahn worried that some culture might disappear. He created a photography time capsule called the Archives of the Planet.
Explore more on Opendata. The site is in French, but it is easy to navigate.
A FEEL GOOD SPACE STORY
Hayley Arceneaux, had cancer at 10, became a physician assistant, works at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and is now scheduled to be the first person with a prosthetic limb to go to space.
Read more on the New York Times ($?) (5 minutes)
POLAR EXPLORATION BY AIRSHIP
The Italia Airship crashed on a return trip from the North Pole. Roald Amundsen, a rival famous polar explorer, then disappeared while attempting to save the rival expedition. It’s on the list for an Adventure Almanac story someday. In the meantime, TASS put together a comprehensive story with a fun interface and cool graphics about the fateful events.
Read more on TASS (10 minutes)
OFF GRID UPCYCLING
There is an entire community of boondocking RVers living on BLM land in Arizona. Ryan Pohl founded High Desert Off Grid to convert RVs to solar power to reduce the environmental impact of generators. He uses upcycled lithium ion batteries from Nissan Leaf cars.
View the photo essay on the Washington Post (5 minutes)
SPEEDRIDING SPEEDFLYING SPEEDCRAZY
It’s nearly the end of ski season. Why not watch a crazy skiing/paragliding stunt through an French ski resort?
Watch on Red Bull YouTube (3 minutes)
WHERE DOES IT RAIN MORE
The Pudding does great data visualizations. This interactive website compares rainfall levels. Maybe that doesn’t sound interesting, but it is. Does it rain more in Asheville, NC, Orlando, FL, or Seattle, WA?
Explore The Pudding (<5 minutes)
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