February 19th, 2015, 12:02 am
QuoteOriginally posted by: CuchulainnQuoteOriginally posted by: exneratunriskQuoteOriginally posted by: CuchulainnQuoteOriginally posted by: Traden4AlphaQuoteOriginally posted by: CuchulainnQuoteOriginally posted by: daveangelQuoteOriginally posted by: ppauperNYC financial analyst, married to JP Morgan exec, dies of exposure during solo hike in New Hampshire mountainsKate Matrosova, 32anyone here know her ?Seemed like quite an irresponsible thing to do. But RIP nonetheless.I don't understand why people do that crazy stuff.I know a number of people who do things like this and have seen four categories of reasons. First, they see it as a supreme mental and physical challenge that gets them out of their usual workaday lives in which they have no way to combat stress. Second, some of them are also adrenaline junkies -- they only feel alive when they are one false step away from death. Third, some of them are still young enough and fit enough to feel they are immortal and can overcome anything. Finally, in their defense, I must admit that these wild natural landscapes are amazingly beautiful.1) not a good reason IMO.2) like an accountant who wants to be a lion-tamer.3) I used to love judo competitions, the adreline is sky high. Now I do karate and katas:-)4) But not alone in the middle of nowhere at minus 30. It's not just yourself. Reminds of the Irish CEO of intrade.com John Delaney who lost his life on Everest. A wife + two kids I believe.Risk optimization: go high, fast, long---enough to have fun, but not that high, fast, long---to ger severely hurt---risk optimization needs routine, but routine is boring?Steepest ascent/descent, local or global maximum? orRisk optimization isn't easy because:1) the risk of injury or death is non-zero and generally small for almost all activities (death is a rare but omnipresent threat)2) the risk of injury or death for a given activity varies between people as a function of health, preparation, and equipment (your milage may vary)3) the risk of injury or death is not known, especially at the level of individuals (people can easily conclude that something is not risky)Ergo, healthy people with experience at "dangerous activity X" are likely to estimate the chance of death as low, repeat said activity under increasingly extreme conditions, and die from said activity.