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The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watchin

by tumult 16y ago

The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. It is so strange to me that television continuously presents things which are disconnected from reality, and people, who watch television for hours a day, end up using it as a replacement for life experience. I cannot really blame people for this; I think most people (here in America, at least) see most of their lives through television, so it's only natural that it's where most of their 'experience' comes from. But it's still dangerous. And things like this (choking, injuries/wounds, freezing, etc.) are all presented in such an unrealistic way, but with such consistency, that people never even question whether or not that's how it is outside of television and movies. I wish television producers were more responsible. It's made us into a nation of incorrectly trained, mislead incompetents. Article is light on HN content, though.

warfangle 16y ago
Medical shows legally have to be responsible. Apparently at some point, someone took medical advice from a soap opera and a life was lost because of it. From that day forward they hire RNs part time to fill in gaps in the script with medical terms. A friend worked in an office that contracted out an army of RNs for this kind of script work. Pretty weird when you think about it.
CWuestefeld 16y ago
television continuously presents things which are disconnected from reality, and people, who watch television for hours a day, end up using it as a replacement for life experience. Aside from their absurd depiction of computers and other high tech, which go without saying... Hollywood depiction of violence is inaccurate, and I think partly responsible for some common fears. On one hand, you'll see hand-to-hand combat go on seemingly forever, with the combatants absorbing huge amounts of damage, yet continuing on without any apparent loss of stamina. On the other hand, guns are depicted as instant killers. A single shot, even in an extremity or the belly, is immediately incapacitated and no longer a factor (except possibly at the end of the battle when we discover they've been playing dead). In reality, there's nothing that a single shot will do to immediately incapacitate someone, short of outright destruction of the CNS. Even a shot to the heart, femoral artery, etc., leaves at least several seconds of consciousness during which a determined attacker could get off another shot of his own. And according to my self defense firearms instructor, in a conflict it's likely that you won't even notice you're shot immediately, or at least not be aware of the severity.

by tumult 16y ago

warfangle 16y ago

Medical shows legally have to be responsible. Apparently at some point, someone took medical advice from a soap opera and a life was lost because of it. From that day forward they hire RNs part time to fill in gaps in the script with medical terms. A friend worked in an office that contracted out an army of RNs for this kind of script work. Pretty weird when you think about it.

CWuestefeld 16y ago

television continuously presents things which are disconnected from reality, and people, who watch television for hours a day, end up using it as a replacement for life experience. Aside from their absurd depiction of computers and other high tech, which go without saying... Hollywood depiction of violence is inaccurate, and I think partly responsible for some common fears. On one hand, you'll see hand-to-hand combat go on seemingly forever, with the combatants absorbing huge amounts of damage, yet continuing on without any apparent loss of stamina. On the other hand, guns are depicted as instant killers. A single shot, even in an extremity or the belly, is immediately incapacitated and no longer a factor (except possibly at the end of the battle when we discover they've been playing dead). In reality, there's nothing that a single shot will do to immediately incapacitate someone, short of outright destruction of the CNS. Even a shot to the heart, femoral artery, etc., leaves at least several seconds of consciousness during which a determined attacker could get off another shot of his own. And according to my self defense firearms instructor, in a conflict it's likely that you won't even notice you're shot immediately, or at least not be aware of the severity.