The risks that kill you are not necessarily the risks that frighten you.

[tdog 0]

I don't remember where I first heard this, but I don't think it was on DZ.com or even at the DZ...

"The risks that kill you are not necessarily the risks that frighten you."

Example: If you are between the age of 25 and 44, you have a 1 in 5000 chance of dying heart disease, or a 1 in 6666 chance of suicide. You are much, much more likely to die of eating bad food or shooting yourself in the head than, say, something spectacularly news worthy as a shark attack or hurricane force winds...

But, when you have nightmares at night, how often do you dream of the Big Mac's slowly hurting you versus that bolt of lightning on the blue sky day? The spectacular ways to die worry us in our nightmares and in our life... (The Big Mac should make you jump from your chair and scream, and you should not be worried about that spider that just walked up your leg.)

The things that worry us are (often) not the things that kill us.

This applies to all parts of life. You may be the green peace activist protesting the superfund site across town, but ignoring the radon in your own house - or you might be the concerned mother of a kid who skateboards aggressively, ignoring the fast food eating sibling who is dieing a slow passive death behind the TV.

The next level of analysis of this concept: Events that are hard to see or have a slow change get less attention than dramatic sudden changes - because the dramatic events worry us more than slow changing events that we can cope with and adapt to. If you gained 20 pounds overnight would you see a doctor? What about 20 pounds in a week? What about 20 pounds in a year? Apply this to skydiving in terms of gear wear or experience...

So, why post this in a DZ.com thread... Well, I am not really wanting to go into the arguments of say, is a RSL a wise investment, or a Cypres being required. But lets think more abstractly... Looking with a focus on risks within our sport - what are really the risks that worry us? What are the risks that kill us?

[mnskydiver688 0]

We worry about what we cannot control. We don't fear those things we can control because we always believe that when the time comes to make a decision that will ultimately affect our existence we feel no matter the circumstances we will make the right decision. Just one more Big Mac. Just one more drink. Just one more jump. Skydiving is a dysfunctional relationship between the feeling of control and the feeling of being powerless. We accept the fact that there is a chance that we could die doing the thing that we love, but we also believe that if we are presented with a situation that is uncommon and could end in our death we will do the right things to stay alive. Is our faith misplaced? Is the sport of skydiving a perfect case study when it comes to the belief of fate and destiny? Risks are ultimately deemed acceptable if the rewards are worth the gamble.

Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

[jakee 1,597]

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Looking with a focus on risks within our sport - what are really the risks that worry us? What are the risks that kill us?

I would say (generally speaking) that the risks that worry us are gear issues and other peoples mistakes. The risks that kill us are our own mistakes.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[JohnMitchell 16]

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I would say (generally speaking) that the risks that worry us are gear issues and other peoples mistakes. The risks that kill us are our own mistakes.

Sometimes other people's mistakes kill us. Bad pilots, swooping in traffic, inadequate separation on opening, etc. That's why we need to look around and help others manage their risks, too.

[jakee 1,597]

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Sometimes other people's mistakes kill us.

Of course, but in general terms I think that our own mistakes are much more likely to kill us, yet we are more aware of the risks of other peoples mistakes.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[popsjumper 2]

Maybe ignorance really is bliss?

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[The111 1]

Somewhere I am sure there is a statistic which says you have a 1 in xxxx chance of dying from shark bite. This is not true unless you go in water where sharks live.

So it would make sense for somebody who's never been in water or near a shark in their life, to freak out when they go swimming and see one for the first time. Their chances just went from zero to a finite number, which is mathematically an infinite increase (ok, that's not even technically true but it illustrates the severity of the difference).

Likewise there is a statistical chance (according to somebody) of dying by avalanche. If you've lived in FL your whole life, the first time you go skiing up north, your chances of avalanche death have now gone from zero to something.

But in general I agree that fear and risk do not always coincide, in dangerous activities. This has largely to do with complacency, which we all (hopefully) try to avoid.

Q: Why do most people think driving is so much more safe than skydiving?
A: Because most people drive on a daily basis, and most people don't skydive on a regular basis.

No, I am NOT trying to bring up that argument again, as I do not believe either is measurably "safer". But if I had to guess I'd say skydiving is more dangerous. I believe the difference is much less than most whuffos think though. I have always said that the merit of that argument is it brings to light the fact that most drivers underestimate how dangerous driving is; they have become very complacent. Just look around you on the highway. Hopefully we don't have to experience that same feeling in the sky (feeling surrounded by complacent pilots) but I'll admit watching a load land on a busy day during a boogie, it is easy to feel it sometimes.

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