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ThesurprisingpurposeoftravelIt's4:15inthemorning,andmyalarmclockhasjuststolenawayalovelydream.IalmostreturnbacktosleepbeforemyeyecatchesmypackedsuitcaseandIgroan,rememberingthatI'mgoingtotheairport.Thetaxiislateandthenlost,andI'mgettingincreasinglynervousthatI'llmissmyflight.Iruninwhenwearrive,staggerthroughsecurityandfinallygettomygate.Afterallthetroubleofthismorning,myflightiscanceledandI'mstuckinthisterminalforthenext218minutes,andmyonlyconsolationisacupofcomplimentaryairportcoffee.Thisistraveling,aburdensomeseriesofrunningandwaiting,andaftercountlesshours,finallygettingthere.218Whydowetravel?Idon'tmindtheactualflying,thewonderofbeingairborneinadensemetalbird.Therestofthejourney,however,canfeellikeatediouslessonintheillsofmodernity,fromthepredawnx-rayscreeningtothesadairportmallssellingclustersofkeepsakes.It'stheresultofaglobalizedworld,anditsucks.XSometimes,ofcourse,wetravelbecauseweneedto.Becauseinthisdigitalage,thereisstillsomethingimportantaboutthehandshakeatabusinessluncheon.Oreatingmom'sspecialfoodonThanksgiving.Orseeingyourgirlfriendonyour2-yearanniversary.Butmosttravelisdecidedlyoptional.Onlycorporatetravel,about30%oftripsover50miles,istrulycompulsory.Instead,wetravelbecausewewantto,becausetheannoyancesoftheairportareoffsetbythethrillofbeingsomeplacenew.Becauseworkisstressfulandourbloodpressureistoohighandweneedavacationsomewheretropical.Becausehomeisboring.Becausetheflightsareonsale.BecauseParisisParis.5030%Thankstomodernaviation,wecannowmovethroughspaceataninhumanspeed.Forthefirsttimeinhumanhistory,wecanoutrunthesunandmovefromonehemispheretoanotherinasingleday.Ofcourse,it'snotenoughtosimplygetonaplane.Ifwewanttorealizethecreativebenefitsoftravel,thenwehavetore-thinkitsoverallpurpose.Mostpeople,afterall,escapetoParissotheydon'thavetothinkaboutthosetroublestheyleftbehind.Buthere'stheirony:OurmindismostlikelytosolveourmoststubbornproblemswhilewearesittinginluxuryinaLeftBankcafe.So,insteadofcontemplatingthatbutterydessert,weshouldbeconsciousofthosedomesticissueswejustcan'tsolve.Thelargerlesson,though,isthatourthoughtsaresaturatedwiththefamiliar.Thebrainisaspaceofnearinfinitepossibility,whichmeansthatitspendsalotoftimeandenergychoosingwhatnottonotice.Asaresult,creativityistradedawayforefficiency;wethinkinfinite,literalprose,notsymbolicverse.Abitofdistance,however,helpsloosenthecognitivechainsthatimprisonus,makingiteasiertominglethenewwiththeold;themundaneisgraspedfromaslightlymoreabstractperspective.Accordingtoresearch,theexperienceofanexoticcultureendowsuswithavaluableopen-mindedness,makingiteasiertorealizethatevenatrivialthingcanhavemultiplemeanings.Considertheactofleavingfoodontheplate:InChina,thisisoftenseenasacompliment,asignalthatthehosthasprovidedenoughtoeat.ButinAmericathesameactisasubtleinsult,anindicationthatthefoodwasn'tgoodenoughtofinish.Suchmulticulturalcontrastsmeanthatseasonedtravelersareopentoambiguity,willingtorealizethattherearedecidedlydifferent(andequallyvalid)waysofinterpretingtheworld.This,inturn,allowsthemtoexpandthecircumferenceoftheircognitiveinputsastheyrefusetosettlefortheirfirstanswersandinitialguesses.Ofcourse,thismentalflexibilitydoesn'tcomefrommeredistance,asimplechangeinlatitudeandlongitude.Instead,thisrenaissanceofcreativityappearstobeasideeffectofdifference:Weneedtochangecultures,toexperiencethedisorientingdiversityofhumantraditions.Thesamefacetsofforeigntravelthataresoconfusing(DoItipthewaiter?Whereisthistraintakingme?)turnouttohavealastingimpact,makingusmorecreativebecausewe'relessinsular.We'reremindedofallthatwedon'tknow,whichisnearlyeverything;we'resurprisedbytheconstantstreamofsurprises.Eveninthisglobalizedage,wecanstillbeamazedatalltheearthlythingsthatweren'tincludedintheLetsGoguidebookandthatcertainlydon'texistbackhome.So,let'snotpretendthattraveldoesn'thaveitsdrawbacks,orthatweendurejetlagforpleasure.Wedon'tspend10hourslostintheLouvrebecausewelikeit,andtheviewfromthetopofMachuPicchuprobablydoesn'tmakeupforthetroubleoflostluggage.(Moreoftenthannot,Ineedavacationaftermyvacation.)Wetravelbecauseweneedto,becausedistanceanddifferencearethesecretcornerstonesofcreativity.Whenwegethome,homeisstillthesame.Butsomethinginourmindhasbeenchanged,andthatchangeseverything.