Wiseman is in the Arctic, a hundred kilometres north of the polar circle. In summer, the sun does not set there and, in winter, it’s pitch black for days. According to the census, the former gold-rush boomtown had just fourteen inhabitants in 2010: seven men and seven women. In the farthest northern region of the USA where Wiseman lies, wild animals have outnumbered humans several times over …
Alexander von Humboldt starts his “Critical Inquiries” in 1852 withthe observation that the miscalculation of one authority has triggeredmany forms of human action in exploring the planet. It is for him theact of travelling that generates knowledge and ultimately drives forwardhuman intellectual progress, even if the travellers themselves might bemisguided. Human triggers and reasons for tr…