Volume 38, Issue 13. Today is
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Volume 38, Issue 13. Today is
.
|
|||
You are viewing To return to the current issue please click here. |
Researchers examine nature of risk-taking, thrill seekersBY AMY BRUGGEMAN
What about skiing amidst the thralls of an avalanche – sound like your idea of a good time? If you answered yes to either question, fear not, you are not alone. If you can’t imagine what sane person would answer in the affirmative, actually there are quite a few – and numbers are growing. In an age of computer transactions and cubicle-sized offices, people are searching for adventure; they are searching for something that will remind them they are alive. For many, this comes in the form of extreme sports such as downhill-mountain biking, rock climbing, extreme skiing, base jumping and sky surfing – sports allowing competitors to face death in the eye and, hopefully, live to tell about it. Just because someone desires to push the limits in such a manner does not mean the person has a death wish. On the contrary, as Marvin Zuckerman, author of Behavioral Expression and Biosocial Bases of Sensation Seeking notes: "If these were real ‘death wishers’, they wouldn’t bother with safety precautions. The ‘death wish’ is a myth made up by those who aren’t high-sensation seekers, who can’t understand the rewards." Nor does it mean that thrill seekers are all a bunch of nutcases. Dr. Frank Farley of Temple University explains this with his type-T analysis. Type-T people are those individuals living off the thrills and novelty of life, whereas the Type t’s (lowercase) tend to avoid such risky business, preferring the routine in their stead. It’s all part of their make-up. Farley stresses that risk-taking can be both mental as well as physical. "I believe human progress demands Type-T behavior," he said. "If you look at Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso or Margaret Mead, all crucially important in their fields – these are not people who choked while standing on the edge." Perhaps the fact Americans are more into risk-taking than ever is a good sign. Perhaps risk takers are just what America needs. As Farley reminds us, "You are not going to stop that thrill-seeking, it’s just a matter of channeling it in the right direction." So, have a dream that others have labeled impossible? Perhaps now is the time to take a leap and give it a dying chance. Who knows, you could succeed. And the act of surviving insurmountable odds may prove to be just as thrilling as surviving the scale down an ice-capped mountain. You will never know until you face the fear of defeat, and decide to take the risk anyway. |
|
home | news
| sports | culture
| ideas | up-to-date |
