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The guards actually have a lot more context. They have been watching the people in the pool and have mentally sorted them by how much attention they need. They
by JshWright 7y ago
The guards actually have a lot more context. They have been watching the people in the pool and have mentally sorted them by how much attention they need.
They have also been staring at the same pool for hours and their brain is ignoring all the visual noise that is distracting you. They also have the benefit of stereo vision and sound.
- Zenst 7y agoYou're spot on, the visual risk assessment aspect plays a big part as does the whole environment filtering aspect. Also helps that in this instance, most have rubber rings and if you see an empty rubber ring, that in itself would trigger concerns and focus.
- smabie 7y agoThey’re also twirling their whistle which helps a lot, I’m sure.
- SilasX 7y agoWhen I took the Lifesaving merit badge, they said that lifeguards have to carry the whistle because it will get in the way if they wear it around their neck when trying to make a rescue.
- inetknght 7y agoLifeguards in my area have the whistle on a wristband for that exact reason plus so they don't accidentally drop it while fumbling around with it when not paying attention
- AstralStorm 7y agoIt's more that a drowning person will grab anything, and if that thing is on your neck it will make the rescue more problematic than it already is. (Which is also why the lifeguards here are told to approach from the side, less likely to be grabbed on the head that way.)
- laumars 7y agoI agree with your general point but I think some of the assumptions you've made aren't quite accurate: > They have also been staring at the same pool for hours and their brain is ignoring all the visual noise that is distracting you. I'd suspect mental fatigue would counteract any benefits you'd get from increased filtering. Which, I assume, is why life guards are generally rotated regularly. > They also have the benefit of stereo vision and sound. Sound might not be of much help here because drowning is usually something that happens quietly (as the linked site also explains).
- JshWright 7y agoI meant "hours" cumulatively, so their brain is ignoring all the background stuff that is competing for our attention in these short clips because it's all novel stimulation to us. Drownings in progress are often quiet, but that doesn't mean there aren't useful audio cues (splashing that stops, a kid who is no longer laughing or shouting, etc)
- laumars 7y agoTwo very fair points :)
- _ph_ 7y agoThe sound of the videos is awful and little use, but I would guess, in reality, hearing can help too. And humans are exceptionally able to focus their attention on a single sound source. In general, I would assume, like with driving, the job of the lifguard is a bit automatic, where the mind on its own filters out the ones, which might need stronger attention.
- keanzu 7y agoOn at least one example I heard constant frequency splashing - it was the drowning person, they were going under and coming up rhythmically so the sound was helpful.
- hammock 7y agoA little bit of training goes a long way, I imagine. There are specific risk factors to watch for, not just waiting for a kid to start drowning. Most (not all) of the videos I saw were of a kid falling out of a tube first.