Clearly, Hubbard learned and experienced much during his Asian travels, but he was left discouraged by what he observed:

For all the wonders of these lands and all his respect for those whom he encountered, he still saw much that concerned him: Chinese beggars willing themselves to die above open graves in Beijing, children who were less than rags, widespread ignorance and despair. And in the end, he came to the inescapable conclusion that despite the wisdom of its ancient texts, the East did not have the answers to the miseries of the human condition. It remained evident in the degradation and sorrow of its people. ( www.aboutlronhubbard.org )

In 1929, Hubbard returned to the United States and resumed his formal education. After graduating from the Woodword School for Boys in Washington, D.C., he enrolled in the mathematics and engineering program at George Washington University. In the course of this study, Hubbard theorized that subatomic particles might assist in understanding how the human mind worked, and recognized the great importance of keeping mankind under control in light of atomic studies. He also became keenly disappointed with the knowledge of the psychologists he consulted with. As Hubbard described it:

To be very blunt, it was very obvious that I was dealing with and living in a culture which knew less about the mind than the lowest primitive tribe I had ever come in contact with. Knowing also that people in the East were not able to reach as deeply and predictably into the riddles of the mind as I had been led to expect, I knew I would have to do a lot of research.
Thus, the result of Hubbard's many travels, experiences, and studies was a determination to discover how the human mind works. Hubbard left college before graduating and made the world his research laboratory. His research was financed by becoming one of the most famous authors of the 1930s. He wrote well over 200 novels and short stories in the genres of science fiction, western, mystery and adventure.