Ooh, those are great questions at the end! Thank you for those (and for the compliment at the beginning). Your comment and Graham Strong’s above both make me aware that I’ve got this aversion to over-heroicizing my actions that I need to come to terms with. But that reptilian brain switch … wow, that’s such an interesting thing and so ha…
Ooh, those are great questions at the end! Thank you for those (and for the compliment at the beginning). Your comment and Graham Strong’s above both make me aware that I’ve got this aversion to over-heroicizing my actions that I need to come to terms with. But that reptilian brain switch … wow, that’s such an interesting thing and so hard to “intellectualize” and talk about. I suppose we all have different explanations for why we’ve taken excessive risk. I know mine tend toward I just don’t think I’ll ever come to harm (itself just such an implausible assertion).
I think the feeling of immortality is a common reason people take risks. It's so funny how death is literally the only thing life ever guarantees, but no one ever believes it.
Absolutely -- some deep, dark function of the brain. Only during discussions like these, I recall being a small child who would purposely dart across our small, suburban street in front of moving cars (in the 1960s) for the adrenaline rush . I can still see their grills looming above my head. What the F??!!
PS -- Thanks, Amy!! Then again -- I can count three instances in young adulthood that should have led to my demise. Every day is a gift, no?! Experience, expertise, resiliency, will, fate, or .... luck? Why me? Why now? Boggles the mind.
I can't even count the number of times I could've easily died. (I don't know if "should" is the right word, especially when it comes to death.) It's too chilling to even think about.
Interestingly enough, after this set of posts I saw an interview on the Daily Show regarding young children needing to be allowed to experience simple risks (the topic was looking at today's young children not getting enough outdoor playtime away from screens) that help them to develop their confidence and resiliency. All interesting -- specifically, the writer alluded to being allowed to play on "dangerous" playground equipment like spinning merry-go-rounds and teeter-totters. Risk/fall/get up/learn/grow/adapt stuff: just need to survive.
I played at on that sharp mental equipment and clung to the bars of the merry-go-round as bigger kids spun it as hard as they could. Even then, I thought, "this is crazy." Now, when I see all the plastic and foam playgrounds, I wonder if the parents are doing their kids any favors. There must be a happy medium between a metal and concrete death-trap and nerf-everything.
Ooh, those are great questions at the end! Thank you for those (and for the compliment at the beginning). Your comment and Graham Strong’s above both make me aware that I’ve got this aversion to over-heroicizing my actions that I need to come to terms with. But that reptilian brain switch … wow, that’s such an interesting thing and so hard to “intellectualize” and talk about. I suppose we all have different explanations for why we’ve taken excessive risk. I know mine tend toward I just don’t think I’ll ever come to harm (itself just such an implausible assertion).
I think the feeling of immortality is a common reason people take risks. It's so funny how death is literally the only thing life ever guarantees, but no one ever believes it.
Absolutely -- some deep, dark function of the brain. Only during discussions like these, I recall being a small child who would purposely dart across our small, suburban street in front of moving cars (in the 1960s) for the adrenaline rush . I can still see their grills looming above my head. What the F??!!
Well, I'm glad you're still here to talk about it!
PS -- Thanks, Amy!! Then again -- I can count three instances in young adulthood that should have led to my demise. Every day is a gift, no?! Experience, expertise, resiliency, will, fate, or .... luck? Why me? Why now? Boggles the mind.
I can't even count the number of times I could've easily died. (I don't know if "should" is the right word, especially when it comes to death.) It's too chilling to even think about.
I’m going to be interested to see how my kids do it with their own kids: I hope they swing back toward more permissiveness
Interestingly enough, after this set of posts I saw an interview on the Daily Show regarding young children needing to be allowed to experience simple risks (the topic was looking at today's young children not getting enough outdoor playtime away from screens) that help them to develop their confidence and resiliency. All interesting -- specifically, the writer alluded to being allowed to play on "dangerous" playground equipment like spinning merry-go-rounds and teeter-totters. Risk/fall/get up/learn/grow/adapt stuff: just need to survive.
I played at on that sharp mental equipment and clung to the bars of the merry-go-round as bigger kids spun it as hard as they could. Even then, I thought, "this is crazy." Now, when I see all the plastic and foam playgrounds, I wonder if the parents are doing their kids any favors. There must be a happy medium between a metal and concrete death-trap and nerf-everything.
WTF is the operative question!