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Did this shatter anyone else's perception of how well-connected we are, as a species?

The existence of isolated social groups isn't a mind-blowing concept to me, but not something I think about daily either. Does a new awareness of the exception to the rule really change your perception of how interconnected most of humanity is?

Maybe I'm reading too much into this comment, but something about it seems to imply that being disconnected from the global network is a bad thing. Though I myself am a highly plugged-in urbanite, I hope that people who see this remember that living in a small group (or even alone) is just as valid as assimilating with the vast network that connects the majority.

I didn't mean it as a negative comment; I don't see being isolated as a bad thing, but definitely (at least) mildly mind-blowing. Honestly, I don't think I've though about this level of isolation (not used negatively here either) from other regions and cultures. For the majority of my life I have been connected to people via different networks and this is a culture that I, also a highly plugged-in urbanite, can't relate to much (again, not in a bad way). I think that other people who see this on HN share a similar viewpoint - we're so far removed from isolation that we don't see this as "valid" or "invalid" but as a completely different culture that doesn't relate to ours except on very basic levels.

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