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The follow-up post is a must read: in the panic ensuing after a failed switch flip, they made a series of disastrous mistakes that almost caused a fatal road ac

by yholio 8y ago

The follow-up post is a must read: in the panic ensuing after a failed switch flip, they made a series of disastrous mistakes that almost caused a fatal road accident. The animality of the human mind is fascinating, all it takes is a small change in the perception of external threats to drive people utterly bonkers. Puts all kinds of things from wars to conjugal murder into perspective - what is utterly nonsensical to a calm and rational individual may appear as the only way to go for someone who is distressed.

StavrosK 8y ago
Where is that post?
- Hodglim 8y ago
  https://asktog.com/columns/067PanicCaseStudy.html https://asktog.com/columns/067PanicCaseStudy.html
  - StavrosK 8y ago
    Thanks!
- shawabawa3 8y ago
  https://asktog.com/columns/067PanicCaseStudy.html https://asktog.com/columns/067PanicCaseStudy.html
  - StavrosK 8y ago
    Thank you!
craigsmansion 8y ago
Only one thing stands out: "I was certainly ill-equipped." So far in these posts everything has been blamed --engineering decisions, the psychology of panic -- except the mindset of the adventurers. "Fight and flight" is not a normal way to describe a reaction to an ordinary oil-spill, even in a slightly less than extremely convenient location when you have the comfort and convenience of a complete house, which is even mobile by itself, at your disposition. I think some psychological factors are left unmentioned here, with hints of spousal disagreement, grudges, an unwillingness to admit failure, and a desire to divert blame to external factors (the posts in question being an example by themselves). There was definitely a chain of ill-considered decisions that almost lead to a disastrous outcome, but it seems like a lot of the actions were outside of the realm of the normal default choices, making me suspect there were unmentioned factors at play. Either that or the adventurers were hopelessly unsuited for their chosen adventure at that time. "The animality of the human mind" would have significance in describing high-pressure and continuously mounting situations where in retrospect some baffling choices can be explained by instinctive choices that turned out to be counter intuitive. I guess: - "I don't want to deal with this right now!", - "Fine, I don't need a navigator anyway!" could fit the description, but seeing how it could easily have been: - "I don't want to deal with this right now!" - "Maybe you're right. I'm sorry. I'll put on the kettle and make some tea. Then I'll get online and see what I can drum up." the story really ends up having a "Why the stupid things that happened weren't really my fault" tone.

by yholio 8y ago

StavrosK 8y ago

Where is that post?

Hodglim 8y ago
https://asktog.com/columns/067PanicCaseStudy.html https://asktog.com/columns/067PanicCaseStudy.html
- StavrosK 8y ago
  Thanks!
shawabawa3 8y ago
https://asktog.com/columns/067PanicCaseStudy.html https://asktog.com/columns/067PanicCaseStudy.html
- StavrosK 8y ago
  Thank you!

craigsmansion 8y ago

Only one thing stands out: "I was certainly ill-equipped." So far in these posts everything has been blamed --engineering decisions, the psychology of panic -- except the mindset of the adventurers. "Fight and flight" is not a normal way to describe a reaction to an ordinary oil-spill, even in a slightly less than extremely convenient location when you have the comfort and convenience of a complete house, which is even mobile by itself, at your disposition. I think some psychological factors are left unmentioned here, with hints of spousal disagreement, grudges, an unwillingness to admit failure, and a desire to divert blame to external factors (the posts in question being an example by themselves). There was definitely a chain of ill-considered decisions that almost lead to a disastrous outcome, but it seems like a lot of the actions were outside of the realm of the normal default choices, making me suspect there were unmentioned factors at play. Either that or the adventurers were hopelessly unsuited for their chosen adventure at that time. "The animality of the human mind" would have significance in describing high-pressure and continuously mounting situations where in retrospect some baffling choices can be explained by instinctive choices that turned out to be counter intuitive. I guess: - "I don't want to deal with this right now!", - "Fine, I don't need a navigator anyway!" could fit the description, but seeing how it could easily have been: - "I don't want to deal with this right now!" - "Maybe you're right. I'm sorry. I'll put on the kettle and make some tea. Then I'll get online and see what I can drum up." the story really ends up having a "Why the stupid things that happened weren't really my fault" tone.