Well there's know and there's know. I can learn about lots of things without experiencing them firsthand or practicing them myself. Complex financial crime. No-oxygen mountain climbing. The English Revolution of 1640. Greenlandish hunting. (Recent topics of my reading.) Of course Being There gives you certain kinds of information you can't get otherwise, but there are lots of Theres I wouldn't want to Be. At the mercy of Dr. Mengele, for example. Also, there's the tourist's fallacy -- Being There can give you the illusion that you know stuff you can only really get from books and theoretical study. Anyway, I think someone can learn a lot about kink by reading the few intelligent things written about it. That may give them enough information to decide what to do next, whether, e.g,, to acquire first-hand practical experience.
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