
The End of the End of the World - jonbaer
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/23/jonathan-franzen-goes-to-antarctica
======
tfm
Fairly warned be thee, this is a Jonathan Franzen essay, so it's not
everyone's cup of tea, but if you like lengthy light prose peppered with his
usual shout-outs to degenerative diseases you're in luck.

Franzen went on a luxury cruise around the Falklands, South Georgia Island and
the pointy bits of the Antarctic Peninsula. He is a keen bird-watcher. He has
eyes of glass and the heart of a tape recorder. He found Antarctica beautiful
and finds the notion of global warming slightly upsetting, but life goes on.
The cruise was a bit over three weeks long, but he has known his family for
much longer than that so they feature proportionally.

There are no photographs of Antarctica because he resolved ahead of time not
to take any photographs. He did not make it to the end of the world, nor does
he substantially discuss the end of said end.

~~~
hudibras
Not everything needs a tl;dr.

~~~
amelius
This needed one. I'm on mobile and didn't want to open the article. I thought
this was about an apocalypse.

~~~
sjclemmy
At the risk of being snarky (and this IS meant in good humour just to make my
point) can you provide me a 100 word precis of Romeo and Juliet so I don't
have to bother reading it or going to see it?

~~~
PeCaN
At risk of being _extra_ snarky, that's called a synopsis and they're
frequently used to determine if you want to read something....

------
slohr
I enjoyed this article and I'm glad I took the time to read it. Did I learn
about some new framework? No. Will I get ahead in the rat race because of it?
Unlikely. Though I do feel enriched because of it. I was there when Walt
shouted at Jonathan. I was there when Jonathan found out about Gail's death.
Maybe I'm alone in finding the utility of an article like this. It wasn't
rubbish nor poorly written. It was just right.

------
mixmastamyk
Went to Antarctica around 2005ish, one of the most amazing things I've ever
done and was quite cheap, thanks to the Argentine economic crisis. Don't let
worries stop you.

------
jcoffland
My favorite line was this:

> It’s true that the most effective single action that most human beings can
> take, not only to combat climate change but to preserve a world of
> biodiversity, is to not have children.

However, I'm not sure I understand how not having children preserves a world
of biodiversity.

~~~
nitrogen
_However, I 'm not sure I understand how not having children preserves a world
of biodiversity._

Increasing human activity depletes biodiversity by converting land into
monocultured farmland, and by polluting the environment. Having children
increases human activity. Therefore, having children reduces biodiversity. QED

~~~
Ygg2
Ergo wars are good? Especially nuclear wars?

I find the whole "there are too many of us" argument tedious. It's probably
easier for whole world to switch to renewables than to increase birthrates.

More people don't mean necessary more polluters, but also potentially more
ideas how to stop polluting, or go to space.

~~~
adrianN
Nuclear wars are probably pretty bad for the biosphere. Biological weapons are
best if you want to kill humans with minimal environmental impact, I think.

But jokes aside, don't you see an ethical difference between killing people
and not having children?

~~~
Ygg2
Biosphere will recover without all the pesky humans in the way.

That's kinda the point - if reducing human population is the goal, then wars
are way more efficient means.

I think ultimately both those path lead to same road. The same road China is
on.

------
gambiting
Personally I have really enjoyed the article and I am happy I took the time to
read it all. To anyone who comes to comments first - give it a try. Like
another commenter said - I do feel enriched after reading it.

------
rodionos
I enjoyed the prose to the degree of emailing the link to my family. Thinking
of subscribing to New Yorker for the only reason of getting exposed to
excellent essays.

------
grifter2000
Unreadable rubbish.

------
apatters
How on earth does an article like this have anything to do with hacker news?

~~~
chippy
Do you ever remember reading a reply to a comment such as you made?

If no: There are several similar ones each day.

If so: What did the reply say? (hint, this wasn't it!)

------
Illniyar
I tried, but this article is terribly written, 10 minutes in and I have no
idea what this article about (other then probably something to do with
Antarctica).

Can someone with more stamina then me explain to me what this is about and
what is the title referring to?

~~~
Ygg2
More stamina? This isnt weight lifting. The article is meandering, but not
badly written.

It's about a guy going on a trip to Antarctica, and having flashbacks about
his uncle and his life, including his uncle's affair with his mom.

~~~
Illniyar
What is the title referring to then? why the "end" of the end of the world?

------
clamprecht
This article is too wordy, with zero photographs of Antarctica. Watch this
video instead, which covers National Geographic's cruise ("expedition") to
Antarctica:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isa9_gCH6do](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isa9_gCH6do)

~~~
flashman
That video is half an hour long. Here's a Google Images search for
'Antarctica' for those of us without the time to spare:
[https://www.google.com.au/search?q=antarctica&tbm=isch](https://www.google.com.au/search?q=antarctica&tbm=isch)

~~~
jholman
That was helpful, thank you, but maybe in the future you could just select a
choice one or two?

~~~
jpatokal
Here's one weird tip... uhh, the Top 10. You won't believe what happens next,
#3 is _shocking_.

[http://www.ytravelblog.com/best-
antarctica-10-highlights/](http://www.ytravelblog.com/best-
antarctica-10-highlights/)

~~~
arethuza
No mention of the Airdevrondix icefalls:

[http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/An/Antarctica/Antarctic...](http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/An/Antarctica/Antarctica/Airdevronsix.htm)

