 |
Mountains of the Brain - the Psychology
of Extreme Landscape
If living in a jungle for
generations can change the visual cortex to be more sensitive to
green, then would living on the Tibetan Plateau or in a narrow
mountain valley or in the frozen wilds of the Far North also alter
psychology?
There are many theories about the influence
that landscape has on our psyche. Some of that influence is
physical; some is historical, and some is only imagined.
French author, alpinist, scientist and philosopher Bernard Amy
believes that our need for extreme landscape and its promise of
adventure is rooted in the earliest adventurers of the Rift
Valley, who reluctantly left in search of food only to discover
the spirit of adventure that continues to be hard-wired into
modern man’s bundle of perceived needs. Reinhold
Messner believes that our inner landscapes are shaped by our
encounters with external landscapes. British author Ed
Douglas has well-developed theories on the evolution of our
perceived need for exposure to extreme landscape. Jim Thorsell is
a world expert on international peace parks in mountain areas and
believes that the power of these landscapes can influence tense
transborder negotiations in a positive way. Ethnobotanist and
award-winning author Wade Davis has lived with indigenous cultures
in extreme landscapes ranging from the windswept ridges of Tibet
to the steamy jungles of the Amazonian rain forests. He has more
pragmatic views on the indelible effects that a landscape has on
its inhabitants.
|
