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Comment by kermatt | Hacker News Reader

> renaissance of re-exploring the natural world

I wonder if there was a period of time where people who were inclined to do that were able to dedicate themselves to exploration instead of working to pay for healthcare.

I know that's a gross oversimplification, and that quality of life is better now, but when it came to academic pursuits was it more feasible in the past?

Or am I just subconsciously reacting to constant negative economic news and wondering if the grass was greener on the other side of the timeline?

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Yes. Read up on "gentleman scholars" from before the 20th century. An astonishing amount of all our foundational knowledge about the universe comes from wealthy dudes (or with wealthy patrons) exploring science for the sheer hell of it.

And when I say astonishing, I mean it. Almost all the foundations of every field were built this way.

Did wealthy dudes stop doing science at some point?

Yes, for the most part they took up "being wealthy" as an occupation and "grifting" as a hobby.

If you don’t know the canopy raft, prepare to enjoy:

https://www.reforestaction.com/en/magazine/francis-halle-and...

Francis Halle dedicated his whole life to forest, I recommend any of his book if you find one in your language.

More pictures as videos here https://rainforestslefilm.wordpress.com/forests-canopy-raft/

I think that in some senses it was easier in most of the previous century simply because there were fewer distractions. A young person (or indeed any person) interested in science, engineering, literature could spend hours at the local public library digging into whatever subject interested them without that nagging feeling that they were missing out on something all the time. We didn't have that firehose of interesting stuff just a click away from us all the time.

A good chunk of early science was basically funded by nobility sponsoring scientists as sort of… conversation pieces, basically, right? I’m not sure if that gig is still available.

One could argue all science is still funded that way. My team is funded by a philanthrophist. NSF "royalty" re-distributes the peasant's taxes to do science. Etc.

As if by magic from here on HN - https://www.science.org/content/article/can-wealthy-family-c...

The majority of early explorers and researchers sought philanthropist to support their desire to explore. They sold the dream to pay for their plan. The frontiers are more specialized now. Getting funding to "explore Africa" would be a hard sell.

This was also National Geographic’s modus operandi. They kickstarted exploration. Much of it would have happened eventually but it’d nice to have historical glimpses of what used to be.

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