Editing Adventure

{{Short description|Exciting or unusual experience}}
{{Redirect2|Adventurer|Adventures||Adventure (disambiguation)|and|Adventurer (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
[[File:Indian coracle.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|People on a [[coracle]]]]
An '''adventure''' is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes [[risk]]y.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adventure |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/adventure |access-date=13 June 2013 |website=dictionary.com |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305153325/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/adventure |url-status=live }}</ref> Adventures may be activities with danger such as [[traveling]], [[exploring]], [[skydiving]], [[mountain climbing]], [[scuba diving]], [[river rafting]], or other [[extreme sports]]. Adventures are often undertaken to create psychological [[arousal]] or in order to achieve a greater goal, such as the pursuit of [[knowledge]] that can only be obtained by such activities.

==Motivation==
Adventurous experiences create psychological [[arousal]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gomà-i-Freixanet |first=M |title=On the psychobiology of personality |publisher=Elsevier |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-08-044209-9 |page=187 |chapter=Sensation Seeking and Participation in Physical Risk Sports |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YjcgAn8TfsC&pg=PA187}}</ref> which can be interpreted as negative (e.g. [[fear]]) or positive (e.g. [[flow (psychology)|flow]]).  For some people, adventure becomes a major pursuit in and of itself. According to adventurer [[André Malraux]], in his ''[[Man's Fate]]'' (1933), "If a man is not ready to risk his life, where is his dignity?"

Similarly, [[Helen Keller]] stated that "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keller |first=Helen |url=https://archive.org/details/opendoor00kell |title=The Open Door |publisher=Garden City, N.Y. Doubleday |year=1957 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

Outdoor adventurous activities are typically undertaken for the purposes of [[recreation]] or [[wikt:excitement|excitement]]: examples are [[adventure racing]] and [[Adventure travel|adventure tourism]]. Adventurous activities can also lead to gains in knowledge, such as those undertaken by explorers and pioneers{{snd}}the British adventurer [[Jason Lewis (adventurer)|Jason Lewis]], for example, uses adventures to draw global [[sustainability]] lessons from living within finite environmental constraints on expeditions to share with schoolchildren. [[Adventure education]] intentionally uses challenging experiences for [[learning]].

Author [[Jon Levy (behaviorist)|Jon Levy]] suggests that an experience should meet several criteria to be considered an adventure:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Snow |first=Shane |date=2 December 2016 |title=The Science of the Perfect Night Out |url=https://www.gq.com/story/science-of-the-best-night-ever |access-date=10 February 2019 |website=GQ |language=en |archive-date=12 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212011607/https://www.gq.com/story/science-of-the-best-night-ever |url-status=live }}</ref>

# Be remarkable—that is, worth talking about
# Involve adversity or perceived risk
# Bring about personal growth.

==Mythology and fiction==
Some of the oldest and most widespread stories in the world are stories of adventure, such as [[Homer]]'s ''[[The Odyssey|Odyssey]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mansbach |first=Adam |date=12 February 2010 |title=Odysseus Remixed |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/books/review/Mansbach-t.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/books/review/Mansbach-t.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Jenkyns |first=Richard |date=22 December 1996 |title=Heroic Enterprise – (Book review: The Odyssey translated by Robert Fagles) |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/31/reviews/fagles-odyssey.html |access-date=13 June 2013 |archive-date=6 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806225451/http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/31/reviews/fagles-odyssey.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Zweig |first=Paul |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/61858818 |title=The adventurer |date=1999 |publisher=Akadine Press |isbn=1-888173-72-6 |oclc=61858818 |author-link=Paul Zweig}}</ref>

The [[knight errant]] was the form the "adventure seeker" character took in the [[Late Middle Ages]].

[[adventure novel|Adventure fiction]] exhibits these "protagonist on adventurous journey" characteristics, as do many popular feature [[Adventure film|films]], such as ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |date=26 May 1977 |title=A Trip to a Far Galaxy That's Fun and Funny |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/26/archives/star-wars-a-trip-to-a-far-galaxy-thats-fun-and-funny.html |access-date=14 December 2018 |archive-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214163955/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/26/archives/star-wars-a-trip-to-a-far-galaxy-thats-fun-and-funny.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |date=12 June 1981 |title=Movie Review: Raiders of the Lost Ark |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173AA42CA1494CC6B6799D836896 |access-date=4 February 2017 |archive-date=7 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007224442/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173AA42CA1494CC6B6799D836896 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Carroll, Robinson - S001 - Cover.jpg|thumb|right|[[Lewis Carroll]]'s ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' is a well-known example of a fantasized adventure story.]]

[[Marvel Comics]], [[DC Comics]], and other [[comic book]] publishers often use "adventurer"—or, in some cases, "costumed adventurer" or "superhuman adventurer"—as a synonym for "super-hero."

===Outdoors===
Adventure books may have the theme of the hero or main character going to face the [[wilderness]] or [[Mother Nature]]. Examples include books such as ''[[Hatchet (book)|Hatchet]]'' or ''[[My Side of the Mountain]]''. These books are less about "questing", such as in mythology or other adventure novels, but more about [[Survival skills|surviving]] on their own, living off the land, gaining new experiences, and becoming closer to the natural world.

===Questing===
Many adventures are based on the idea of a quest: the hero goes off in pursuit of a reward, whether it be a skill, prize, treasure, or perhaps the safety of a person. On the way, the hero must overcome various obstacles to obtain their reward.

===Video games===
{{See also|Adventure game}}

In [[video game culture]], an adventure game is a [[video game]] in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and [[Puzzle|puzzle solving]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=Ernest |date=29 December 1999 |title=The Designer's Notebook: Three Problems for Interactive Storytellers |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/the-designer-s-notebook-three-problems-for-interactive-storytellers-resolved |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100510155724/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3414/the_designers_notebook_three_.php |archive-date=10 May 2010 |access-date=9 June 2010 |website=[[Game Developer (website)|Game Developer]] |page=43}}</ref> The [[Video game genres|genre]]'s focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other [[narrative]]-based media, [[literature]] and [[film]], encompassing a wide variety of literary genres. Many adventure games ([[List of text-based computer games|text]] and [[List of graphic adventure games|graphic]]) are designed for a single player, since this emphasis on story and character makes multi-player design difficult.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hitchens |first=Joe |title=Game Design Perspectives |publisher=Charles River Media |year=2002 |isbn=1584500905 |editor-last=Laramée |editor-first=François-Dominic |page=258 |chapter=Special Issues in Multi player Game Design}}</ref>

==Nonfiction works==
From ancient times, travelers and explorers have written about their adventures.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-12-04|title=16 Famous Explorers and Their Incredible Stories|url=https://artoftravel.tips/famous-explorers-their-incredible-stories/|access-date=2021-12-19|website=The Art of Travel: Wander, Explore, Discover|language=en-US|archive-date=19 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219141531/https://artoftravel.tips/famous-explorers-their-incredible-stories/|url-status=live}}</ref> Journals which became best-sellers in their day were written, such as [[Marco Polo]]'s journal ''[[The Travels of Marco Polo]]'' or [[Mark Twain]]'s ''[[Roughing It]]''. Others were personal journals, only later published, such as the journals of [[Meriwether Lewis]] and [[William Clark]] or [[Captain James Cook]]'s journals. There are also books written by those not directly a part of the adventure in question, such as ''[[The Right Stuff (book)|The Right Stuff]]'' by [[Tom Wolfe]] or books written by those participating in the adventure but in a format other than that of a journal, such as ''Conquistadors of the Useless'' by [[Lionel Terray]]. Documentaries often use the theme of adventure as well.

==Adventure sports ==
{{Main|Extreme sport}}
There are many sports classified as adventure sports, due to their inherent danger and excitement. Some of these include [[mountain climbing]], [[skydiving]], or other [[extreme sports]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cohen |first1=Rhonda |last2=Baluch |first2=Bahman |last3=Duffy |first3=Linda J. |date=2018-10-18 |title=Defining Extreme Sport: Conceptions and Misconceptions |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=9 |pages=1974 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01974 |issn=1664-1078 |pmc=6200847 |pmid=30405477 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Sports}}
* [[Adventure film]]
* [[Adventure playground]]
* [[Adventure travel]]
* [[Exploration|Expedition]]
* [[Exploration]]
* [[Filibuster (military)]]
* [[List of genres]]
* [[Novelty seeking]]
* [[Overlanding]]
* [[Sports]]
* [[Tourism]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.en.abenteuer.fak13.uni-muenchen.de/index.html Website of the Research Unit "Philology of Adventure"]: ongoing research project on the literary history of the adventure
* [[voy:Main Page|Wikivoyage]]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Adventure| ]]