'Reading ten thousand books is not as useful as traveling ten thousand miles.'

Question

This is a Chinese Proverb I came across. what do you think? Agree or disagree?

knowmeyourself · Accepted Answer

Yup, I agree. :)

It means that you learn more when you experience something rather than reading about experiencing it. It makes sense.

I remember reading on GAG a while ago one of the answers explaining how it seems like living in an Arabian country and how it feels like being a Muslim. I like to know other people's perspective on things. I respect others' opinion, so I don't take it personally. But, I couldn't help at the time but to comment on that user's answer. She thought she knew so much about Muslim people just by reading about them. She said "I read a lot about Islam and the culture and...and I'm sure that...and I know better...". So, I replied saying that living it is so much different than reading about it and this applies to everything in life.

Same as abusive relationships. People read a lot about how abusive men/women act like so they could avoid getting into such relationship. Ironically, they fall in love with one. It's because reading about something only makes you exposed, but doesn't offer you the full real experience.

This is why I love to travel and see how people around the world look like, what they eat, what they are passionate about, etc...You can never fully understand someone/something unless you get really close and live the experience...:)

heavenonearth · Accepted Answer

Yeah, I agree with the principle behind it. Experience is more useful and teaches more than just reading up on things in theory. Having both is the best of course.

I wouldn't take it literally though, because reading 10,000 books is a lot more noteworthy than traveling 10,000 miles in today's world. LA to Nairobi is about 10,000 miles, and I don't think one plane trip to one area of the world is going to be more useful to most people than reading a ton of books. It's not insignificant since you (hopefully) learn a lot about what the culture and people are really like while you're there, but if you read 10,000 books on a variety of subjects I think you'd acquire substantially more knowledge that could prove useful.

xobrowneyedbeauty · Accepted Answer

I'm not sure if this is referring to reading about a place vs. actually going there. If so, I definitely agree. However, I said I disagree because in general, reading can be just as useful as travel because you get different information out of these two different things. Reading can change the way you look at the world and it can open your mind just as well as traveling can, especially if you're reading history books or just really good works. I think appreciating reading is very important because it keeps your mind active. Obviously, travel can absolutely change a person, especially if you're going somewhere like a third world country to volunteer or something. So I think both are important!

VoiceOfReason · Accepted Answer

All contingent on the books you read as well as the miles you've walked. If you read 10,000 well written books and attained great worldly knowledge from them, but your 10,000 miles only consisted of 5000 trips from your home to the convenience store, then yes the proverb hold great insight.

If you read 10,000 books that were fictional or otherwise nonsense but you have traveled to other countries within that 10,000 miles, then the proverb doesn't really carry much weight because the knowledge you gained by experiencing other cultures is invaluable.

If you have read 10,000 book well written books that are full of knowledge and traveled to other countries in your 10,000 miles then I would still give edge to the miles simply because its one thing to read about it, but another to have experienced it.

Basically, while the proverb is pretty catchy, it isn't really a proverb that has a whole lot of depth behind it. Life is what you make of it and the best way to get the most out of it is to live it.

Confucius16 · Accepted Answer

I'm Chinese, and that saying is very vague. I have no context as to who said it, or the deeper meaning or explanation behind it.

I think it depends.

If we read ten thousand books and stay cooped up in our rooms all the time, we won't be able to obtain as much wisdom as if we go out and experience things for ourselves, learning from bad times and getting stronger through strife and adversity.

However, if all we do is travel for the sake of traveling, and we don't read any books or pursue any such kinds of knowledge, then it is better to read ten thousand books.

Why not do both? Why not read books and live life, learning from our mistakes? We don't have to travel far away to learn from mistakes though. We can learn from our mistakes right at home or near home.

aMuse · Answer

I don't think it's relevant in this day and age, but in old times it would probably be true. Today you can hop a flight around the world in a single day and not talk to more then the lady at the ticket counter or the half asleep man with headphones on sitting next to you in coach. You might learn some of the ingredients in packaged airplane peanuts or how to take a dump in mid-flight. =P Back when people traveled the silk road by foot, a journey of 10 thousand miles might take half a life time meeting many cultures along the path, and having to do many things to survive during that time. 10,000 books definitely wins today. Experience is quite useful though, but with the right knowledge those experiences can be a better, and arguably more useful.

Markezzo · Answer

Ten thousand is a crazy amount. If you read too many books you'll eventually feel that you're living through them. I would agree with this saying, not because I think it's better to travel than read, it's just that I would love to actually travel and experience all the places that I see in books ^^

TheGodEmperorLeto · Answer

Depends. If you're traveling 10,000 miles but they're basically to work and back again over a few years, that's not gonna be beneficial. But getting out is a good thing.

But, the problem there is cost. Reading 10,000 books is far less costly than traveling 10,000 miles in our world.

THE_Godfather · Answer

I disagree.

Have you ever traveled across the US? Nothing but cows, horses & farms. The cows in Missouri look just like the cows in Oklahoma. (and so on) I didn't see any wavy wheat, it didn't smell sweet & there were no winds that came right behind the rain! Which made for easier driving.

Boring!

I did pass the worlds largest cross.

I'd rather read a book?

anonymous1138 · Answer

Yeah I guess so. It may be more "useful" in life, but I think reading ten thousand books could take you places and teach you things ten thousand miles could never.

menina · Answer

Agree. We learn more with experience. Sometimes we need to see things and people in order to understand  and accept them. Reading is fun and useful, but it's a different kind of trip.

bruvleigh · Answer

agree, I know so many book smart people who I would call dense because they don't diversify their company. being street smart is always more useful if used correctly

Averageusername · Answer

Not if you aimlessly travel ten thousand miles instead of trying to learn from from the people and places you visit. And reading ten thousand books isn't exactly a small accomplishment

Deft_maiden · Answer

Agree 100%. Personal experience trumps reafing about it anyday!

Janson · Answer

i imagine that doesn't count if you travel ten thousand miles in one big circle, round and round

Rickc1332 · Answer

guys，traveling 10000 cannot be explained literally which actually means something you experienced will never be on books

Anonymous · Answer

We're talking reading vs travel. Yeah I don't think so.

Anonymous · Answer

it depends (explain)

'Reading ten thousand books is not as useful as traveling ten thousand miles.'

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