Jonah Lehrer describes the cognitive benefits of travel:
For the first time in human history, we can outrun the sun and segue from one climate to another in a single day. The reason such travels are mentally useful involves a quirk of cognition, in which problems that feel "close" - and the closeness can be physical, temporal, or even emotional - get contemplated in a more concrete manner. As a result, when we think about things that are nearby, our thoughts are constricted, bound by a more limited set of associations. While this habit can be helpful--it allows us to focus on the facts at hand--it also inhibits our imagination.
On that note, I'm handing over the Dish for the next week to the capable hands of Patrick and Chris who will be joined by Conor Friedersdorf, who needs no intro, and Andrew Sprung, whose superb blog can be found here. It's been an amazing year at the Dish and exhausting too. See you December 21.