The random traveler

Did you know that randomness had a pattern? Mathematicians have been intrigued with this order in chaos so much so that even centuries later we are still struggling to find answers. Though on one side this remains an intellectual debate on the other side it tells us that being spontaneous could be more natural, leading to more vivid experiences than if we would perfect our travel plans. Not so perfect travel plans could turn out more beautiful.
Let me explain random pattern a bit more. Early 1750 Vilfredo Pareto saw a strange pattern in nature, there was an 80-20 rule in everything. 20% of inputs generate 80% of the output. 20% of causes create 80% of consequences. Effort and reward are not linearly related. This is why 20% of effort drives 80% of the results.
Vilfredo Pareto’s (Father of microeconomics) idea became widely know when Joseph Moses Juran. He separated the “vital few” from the “trivial many”, showing how problems in quality could be largely eliminated cheaply and quickly, by focusing on the vital few cases of these problems.
Only a few clouds create the most rain. Few vegetables are the most nutritious. 80/20 is beautiful because it’s a ratio beyond equality. Proportion is what creates nature. Can you imagine a tree with perfectly equal leaves? Or think about how a human would look if he had perfectly equal limbs? Would it be interesting? This is some pattern we cannot change.
In a recent article in Scientific American “Do really people walk in circles?” the researcher proved that even though walking in a straight line seems like a very simple thing to do, it’s actually very complicated. The results suggest that without visual or auditory clues, people would only end up traveling a total of 100 meters from their starting point regardless of the time they are given to wander. Amazing isn’t it?
If the rule is everywhere, the 80-20 travel plan is the real thing. If we look at our travel, 80% of our vacation travel happens in 20% of our calendar days (or maybe less), 80% of the time we spend in a 500-kilometer radius away from our place of birth. There are just a few like Sucheta Kadethankar who covered a distance of over 1600 km in 51 days to become the first Indian to cross the Gobi desert in Mongolia or the Romanian, Daniel Homorodean who traveled for 3 years in Arica are some of the few rare travel tales.
Just like 80% beauty of the world is in 20% of places, you have to give more to your travel to get the essence out of your journey. Travelling can be a life changing experience, which can help you understand more about yourself. This is why something very planned and ordered cannot show you the light but trying a random, unexplored road. Give into to natural spontaneity and rethink your travel plan. Now if I have to think about the vital few regions in India I have not been too, Jammu is on top of my list.