Every novel is a journey into the unknown, both for the writer and the reader.
The very definition of the real becomes: that of which it is possible to give an equivalent reproduction... The real is not only what can be reproduced, but that which is always already reproduced.
The only way to understand another culture is to assume the frame of reference of that culture.
Experience is overrated. When hiring, hire for aptitude, train for skills. Most really amazing or great things are done by people doing them for the first time.