Please help us fill in the Burning man survey that only takes about five minutes.

[Susanna]

Hello everyone,
I am a student from the university in Holland, my study group is researching for the Burning man festival. Please help us fill in the Burning man survey that only takes about five minutes.

Here is the link to the survey: https://www.thesistoolspro.com/survey/c ... 34b05759bc

Thank you very much for the participation and answers!!!

[Captain Goddammit]

Burners pretty much hate being someone’s research project.
Everyone who ever writes about it that hasn’t been there gets it all wrong anyway. So, why waste our time.

[Captain Goddammit]

By the way, I looked at it while taking a dump and it’s the most useless survey ever.
“Have you come across Burning Man on social media?” Yeah no shit Sherlock.
“Should drugs be banned?”
WTF, Einstein, did you think they were legal?!! They’ve always been banned.

[Sham]

Hello everyone,
I am a student from the university in Holland, my study group is researching for the Burning man festival. Please help us fill in the Burning man survey that only takes about five minutes.

Here is the link to the survey: https://www.thesistoolspro.com/survey/c ... 34b05759bc

Thank you very much for the participation and answers!!!

I just took a look at this survey as well. It will do nothing for your research. People have read endlessly various stories, preparation guides and watch dozens of YouTube videos. Nothing can prepare you for actually making the trip to the Black Rock Desert. No matter what you think, or try to pull out from a survey, it will be 10 times different and 100 times better. You simply can't get close to the feel without seeing it with your own eyes. You can't substitute a massive dust storm with a survey.
As far as drug use, there must be some there, but it's not dominating. I hardly ever see anyone who appeared altered. I hope this helps a bit. Good luck with your research project.

[Captain Goddammit]

I’m pretty sure this is a “term paper” research thing, with no intent of attending.

[Elliot]

Hello everyone,
I am a student from the university in Holland, my study group is researching for the Burning man festival. Please help us fill in the Burning man survey that only takes about five minutes.

Here is the link to the survey: https://www.thesistoolspro.com/survey/c ... 34b05759bc

Thank you very much for the participation and answers!!!

Hello, Susanna!

You probably wonder why you received such a mostly hostile response.

The answer lies partly in your own survey question number 9, where you suggest that Burning Man is very different from other "festivals". Yes, Burning Man is SO different from, say... Glastonbury or Roskilde... that no comparison is valid. For that reason, we are careful about even accepting the term "festival" in connection with Burning Man.

Please allow me to illustrate:




This photo is reported to be from Glastonbury, after the spectators have left. Notice, I said "spectators".





This photo is from Burning Man, after most participants have left. I took this photo of our camp-site immediately before I climbed in the motor-home and left. Notice I said "participants" – there are no spectators at Burning Man.

And it feels slightly unnatural for me to talk about "Burning Man". I am used to talking about "Black Rock City".
To my mind, I do not "visit" a "festival" called Burning Man.
Instead, one week each year, I live my life in a community called Black Rock City.

In BRC, just like in any town on Earth, all citizens contribute to the countless functions of the community – from singing and dancing to cleaning the streets.


It would have helped if you had introduced yourself and your project in some depth.
Here on ePlaya, we receive a great many thoughtless questions, including a steady stream of surveys, and we tend to have our guard up by habit.

Our primary concern is that the very nature of Burning Man requires prospective participants to make a sincere effort at learning and understanding the Burning Man ethos – the cultural norms – before even deciding whether to consider participating.

So, when a complete stranger suddenly appears on ePlaya with a dozen "canned" questions, we tend to reply with our own questions: "Who are you, and what research have you done on your own first?"

A would-be participant who wants answers without effort would not likely be happy in BRC.


Let me look at a couple other survey-questions....

Question number 1:
Age.
Your highest range is 36+.
I am almost twice that.
The average age is probably in the 30s. But quite a few of us are much older.


And you might want to ask about education levels. [Full disclosure: I drag the average down.]


Question 3:
Atheism is not a religion.


Question 5... and the rocket goes off.
This needs to be divided into two questions: one about safety, and one about drugs.

As for safety, many of us think in terms of stairs and ladders that might collapse from inadequate design and construction, and readily available medical treatment when it happens – that type of safety.
In this regard, the consensus seems to be that Burning Man is SUPPOSED to be a test of survival skills. At the same time, since it is only a "test", excellent medical treatment must be on hand at all times.


As for drugs....

Philosophers back to Socrates and beyond have agreed that life as a human consists primarily of suffering.
Perhaps this explains why the World's grain harvests have always been divided in halves – one half to make bread, and one half to make booze. [I grew up in Norway, and I sure miss real bread.]

I now live in a small rural county in Northern California, and judging by the daily news... I think half of our 64,000 citizens must be drug addicts, with methamphetamine apparently the suffering-numbing substance of choice.

Alas, there is no reason why BRC should be much different – though, I am told the drugs of choice are more varied and exotic.
I wish it were not so.
Each year when I buy my ticket, I ask myself if I can stand the drug culture around me in BRC for one more year. The medications prescribed by my doctor to keep my worn-out body alive are plenty exotic for me.


Question 6, years attended.
Only since 2015 is of interest? Would you not want the deeper perspective of more experienced Burners? Or...?


Question 10, children.
Burning Man should be wonderful for children. They can learn countless valuable skills and philosophies, such as the inclusiveness mentioned in your question 7.
And I have seen successful examples of this.

But I said "should", because of all the drug abuse. I have also seen horrible drug-induced behavior in BRC that I could never explain to a child.

Again, I wish BRC could be a "drug free" community. After all, one of the main ideas behind this "experimental society" is to develop ways to live better lives. Doubling up on the escape-from-suffering crutch during this crucial week of opportunity is hardly conducive to progress toward less suffering in the long term.

[This concludes today's Sunday sermon, delivered by your friendly local non-theist. ]


One reason I no longer answer my telephone is... surveys.
I used to try my best to give thoughtful answers, but I found myself beginning most answers with "Well, that depends on your definition of....".

Same with your survey, I'm afraid.
We know nothing of your survey's context and purpose.
And some of your questions simply demand deeper answers.

If you wish, I will happily continue this conversation.

In Dust We Trust
Elliot

[FlyingMonkey]

I love any post that gets Elliot to chime in.

But I have to say I'm skeptical when I see someone who has been "Burning for 21 years", has only made 1 post and seemingly knows nothing about the event.



Susanna, Welcome to ePlaya

[some seeing eye]

Hi Susanna,
I'm sure you have a short deadline. But there is a Black Rock Census Bureau which does scientific sampling https://burningman.org/culture/history/ ... nsus-data/.
There are academics who do research on the event https://www.google.com/search?q=burning+man+academics.
And there are video lectures about burning Man by professors online.
Burning Man has regional groups, and you could probably find people to interview who have actually been https://regionals.burningman.org/regionals/europe/.
Best with your project!

[Elliot]

Follow-up:
Susanna sent me a PM, and we are now doing a "correspondence course" in Burning Man. She sounds eager to learn.

They are a team of four students majoring in Creative Business.
And they have improved the survey -- while they are also aware it still leaves something to be desired. (That's where we can help.)

For first-year college students who picked "Burning Man" out of a hat (more or less) for their first research assignment, they are surely doing very well.
And I am honored to contribute what little I can.
For one thing, I am sending her some of my "This One Time At Burning Man" vignettes, which I wrote in 2017.

[And she reminds me of the 18-year-old from Prague who was in my camp in 2017, leading to much mutual learning.]

[Captain Goddammit]

Let’s hope she gets that drug ban going. They’ve been legal out there way too long.

[Savannah]

Welcome to ePlaya!