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Comment by tvm | Hacker News Reader

I'm fan of Thoreau and I live in Europe.

I don't understand how exactly he shaped America?

During the "Walden" period he lived simple, frugal life and invested his time into things he cared about (eg., measuring the depth of the Walden pond in winter). After his crops were ready for the harvest, he took them to the city and sold them with minimal effort, being fascinated by the fact that he didn't have to do almost anything, while he enjoyed all the luxuries of sensible, spiritual life.

He wasn't only author that did such things, but the society really never cared or cares.

Thoreau is forgotten, but for me, at least during his Walden period - he was a proper "hacker".

I'm quite sure that he would condemn the mark of being one of these who shaped the America (or world), because this is not what he wanted.

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> I don't understand how exactly he shaped America?

You answered that right below. That way that he lived is something that a lot of Americans dream of (myself included), just to have a little plot of land all to yourself and be with nature for a while.

> Thoreau is forgotten

Maybe in Europe, but not here. Thoreau is seen as having outlined a very idyllic life, especially for modern times, of living semi-lazily "off the grid".

> I'm quite sure that he would condemn the mark of being one of these who shaped the America (or world), because this is not what he wanted.

Such is the life of a reclusive artist :)

N.B. - Walden Pond is not some mystical place out in the middle of nowhere, it's just outside of Concord, NH[0], site of one of the first battles of the American Revolution just 70 years prior. So, while it was idyllic, it was not like Thoreau was that far away from civilization. The middle of Concord is less than 1.5 miles (2.4km) away from the north shore where Thoreau lived.

[0] - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Walden+Pond,+Concord,+MA+0...

I know that they maintain a nice museum over there. Thoreau's books were translated into most European languages and frankly, his writing influenced me a lot during my early twenties.

Me too :).

As I've gotten older (34 now), I keep moving further and further out, hoping to capture my own Walden experiences. So far, I've only had courage to get to the edge of the suburbs :(.

> I don't understand how exactly he shaped America?

From the link: "Thoreau’s love of nature and his advocacy of a simple life have had a large influence on modern conservation and environmentalist movements."

Beyond Walden, Thoreau's Resistance to Civil Government (also known by the title Civil Disobedience) has been cited as a major influence by civil rights leaders in the United States and abroad.

I don't think it'd be fair at all to say that Thoreau is forgotten in America, even if not everything about modern American life and culture conforms to what he might have wanted for the country.

As far as a prototypical hacker...

Archaeologists found that he had used an order of magnitude more nails than he needed to to build his shelter. He accidentally chopped off part of his toe. His sister brought him food every week.

So he moved fast, broke stuff, and explored self-sufficiency while receiving help from others.

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