7 ms·

Swimming near whales isn’t unsafe at all. They’re not particularly aggressive, a lone human is too small to worry about, and we operate on completely different

Swimming near whales isn’t unsafe at all. They’re not particularly aggressive, a lone human is too small to worry about, and we operate on completely different sections of the food chain. This was more akin to getting stepped on by a giraffe that didn’t see you there. Total accident.

soheil 5y ago
> Swimming near whales isn’t unsafe at all Ha! "I was completely inside" What else needs to happen for you to think there might be an element of being unsafe? The man was swallowed by a whale, I don't care if whales are aggressive or not, if anything can swallow me whole I consider that a bit unsafe. > This was more akin to getting stepped on by a giraffe that didn’t see you there. So you also consider hanging out near giraffes to be completely safe knowing they might accidentally step on you? That's a very interesting definition of safety. I think what you want to say is that animals like whales are friendly and we shouldn't harm them. Point taken.
- void_mint 5y ago
  > Ha! "I was completely inside" What else needs to happen for you to think there might be an element of being unsafe? If a thing happens once, you decide it's categorically unsafe? Not a freak accident? Must be rough for you to actually do anything, given the how many possibilities there are to accidentally die doing basically anything.
  - soheil 5y ago
    You call diving in the ocean and swimming near whales "basically anything"? Diving itself is pretty high risk and the fatality rate isn't as low as you might think. You comparing essential daily activity to recreational diving in whale infested waters as equals is a quite mind boggling.
    - void_mint 5y ago
      If you think this stuff is bad wait till you hear about driving...
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
    - Talanes 5y ago
      Given how many "An X Year Old Person Died in This Intersection This Year" signs I pass just going about my day, I don't think the fatality rate of essential daily activity is as low as you might think.
      - soheil 5y ago
        You're confusing essential with recreational activity.
        ashtonkem 5y ago
        Assuming that every mile is essential is quite a leap.
        Talanes 5y ago
        These are mostly recreational walks.
    - ashtonkem 5y ago
      Diving is risky, whales are not.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- pcthrowaway 5y ago
  This is like saying people who are attacked by squirrels or crows are to blame for going outside. Did you know there are squirrels and crows outside? Did you read that one article about that one person getting dive bombed by a crow? Obviously you have only yourself to blame if you go outside.
aeortiz 5y ago
Giraffes are dangerous right? I wouldn't want to be near one (or a Hippo, or an Ostrich, etc...)
- KMag 5y ago
  Giraffes can kick lions hard enough to kill them, or at least injure them enough to prevent lions from returning to effective hunting before starving to death. In my very limited experience (4 or 5 day safari in Kruger), Giraffes are pretty shy, but you really want to avoid startling them or otherwise putting them in a situation where they feel a need to defend themselves or their young.
  - lumberingjack 5y ago
    Yeah but everyone thinks that lions are badass but they fail like 77% of their hunts so they're more like huge failures.
    - dotancohen 5y ago
      To be fair, what I'm usually hunting I don't eat, but I fail much more than 77% of the time. Probably most men do.
      - OJFord 5y ago
        But perhaps not when we actually depended on it, and had all the practice/experience that goes with that.
      - KMag 5y ago
        > To be fair, what I'm usually hunting I don't eat, Well, you don't know what you're missing, and it might be part of your problem. Just say'n.
        dotancohen 5y ago
        :)
bouncycastle 5y ago
Remember Steve Irwin aka The Crocodile Man? The guy was picking up venomous snakes and wrestling with crocodiles. Then got killed by a "harmless" stingray that operated on a totally different section of the food chain...
- ashtonkem 5y ago
  Freak accidents happen. If you start drawing conclusions about the risk of various activities and animals from literally one incident, you’ll end up with all kinds of erroneous and silly opinions about what is dangerous and what is not. Focusing in on Stingrays, the number of confirmed deaths by stingrays is maybe as high as 30 ever. Yes, Steve Irwin was one of them, but that doesn’t magically move the statistics, it just makes it more salient. For comparison, coconuts kill 150 or so people per year. In a real, measurable way, taking a nap under a coconut tree is more dangerous than swimming with a stingray.
  - bouncycastle 5y ago
    I forgot what this conversation was about, giraffes or something? Anyway, thanks for the tips, I'll make sure to stay away from coconut trees!

soheil 5y ago

> Swimming near whales isn’t unsafe at all Ha! "I was completely inside" What else needs to happen for you to think there might be an element of being unsafe? The man was swallowed by a whale, I don't care if whales are aggressive or not, if anything can swallow me whole I consider that a bit unsafe. > This was more akin to getting stepped on by a giraffe that didn’t see you there. So you also consider hanging out near giraffes to be completely safe knowing they might accidentally step on you? That's a very interesting definition of safety. I think what you want to say is that animals like whales are friendly and we shouldn't harm them. Point taken.

void_mint 5y ago
> Ha! "I was completely inside" What else needs to happen for you to think there might be an element of being unsafe? If a thing happens once, you decide it's categorically unsafe? Not a freak accident? Must be rough for you to actually do anything, given the how many possibilities there are to accidentally die doing basically anything.
- soheil 5y ago
  You call diving in the ocean and swimming near whales "basically anything"? Diving itself is pretty high risk and the fatality rate isn't as low as you might think. You comparing essential daily activity to recreational diving in whale infested waters as equals is a quite mind boggling.
  - void_mint 5y ago
    If you think this stuff is bad wait till you hear about driving...
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  - Talanes 5y ago
    Given how many "An X Year Old Person Died in This Intersection This Year" signs I pass just going about my day, I don't think the fatality rate of essential daily activity is as low as you might think.
    - soheil 5y ago
      You're confusing essential with recreational activity.
      - ashtonkem 5y ago
        Assuming that every mile is essential is quite a leap.
      - Talanes 5y ago
        These are mostly recreational walks.
  - ashtonkem 5y ago
    Diving is risky, whales are not.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
pcthrowaway 5y ago
This is like saying people who are attacked by squirrels or crows are to blame for going outside. Did you know there are squirrels and crows outside? Did you read that one article about that one person getting dive bombed by a crow? Obviously you have only yourself to blame if you go outside.

aeortiz 5y ago

Giraffes are dangerous right? I wouldn't want to be near one (or a Hippo, or an Ostrich, etc...)

KMag 5y ago
Giraffes can kick lions hard enough to kill them, or at least injure them enough to prevent lions from returning to effective hunting before starving to death. In my very limited experience (4 or 5 day safari in Kruger), Giraffes are pretty shy, but you really want to avoid startling them or otherwise putting them in a situation where they feel a need to defend themselves or their young.
- lumberingjack 5y ago
  Yeah but everyone thinks that lions are badass but they fail like 77% of their hunts so they're more like huge failures.
  - dotancohen 5y ago
    To be fair, what I'm usually hunting I don't eat, but I fail much more than 77% of the time. Probably most men do.
    - OJFord 5y ago
      But perhaps not when we actually depended on it, and had all the practice/experience that goes with that.
    - KMag 5y ago
      > To be fair, what I'm usually hunting I don't eat, Well, you don't know what you're missing, and it might be part of your problem. Just say'n.
      - dotancohen 5y ago
        :)

bouncycastle 5y ago

Remember Steve Irwin aka The Crocodile Man? The guy was picking up venomous snakes and wrestling with crocodiles. Then got killed by a "harmless" stingray that operated on a totally different section of the food chain...

ashtonkem 5y ago
Freak accidents happen. If you start drawing conclusions about the risk of various activities and animals from literally one incident, you’ll end up with all kinds of erroneous and silly opinions about what is dangerous and what is not. Focusing in on Stingrays, the number of confirmed deaths by stingrays is maybe as high as 30 ever. Yes, Steve Irwin was one of them, but that doesn’t magically move the statistics, it just makes it more salient. For comparison, coconuts kill 150 or so people per year. In a real, measurable way, taking a nap under a coconut tree is more dangerous than swimming with a stingray.
- bouncycastle 5y ago
  I forgot what this conversation was about, giraffes or something? Anyway, thanks for the tips, I'll make sure to stay away from coconut trees!