C IS FOR COMMITMENT. PHOTO: FRANÇOIS BRASSARD
Peer pressure is a potent force, subtly (or blatantly) encouraging paddlers to run a rapid they would otherwise walk. The decision shifts to satisfying peers rather than assessing one’s ability against the rapid. C » Commitment: Driving five hours to run a river makes it in-
E » EXPERT HALO: HAVING SKILLED PEOPLE AROUND CAN MISTAKENLY LOWER EVERYBODY’S PERCEIVED RISK
credibly difficult to not run it when you get there—flood conditions, late put in or forgotten safety gear be damned. I once scolded a dude for running a river without a helmet. He left it at home and wasn’t going to miss out on a day on the river. He told me I was a dick. E » Expert halo: Having skilled people around can mistakenly
lower everybody’s perceived risk. We certainly see this in the guid- ing world every day, where people turn off their brains when the guide is around. It also plays out in a group of friends, with indi- viduals subconsciously believing their trained buddy has them cov- ered, without ever asking or discussing how a rescue might work. T » Traffic: Busy rivers put subtle pressure on people to hurry up. The Gauley in high season is a good example of freeway mental-
ity on a river—everybody racing to beat the crowd, road rage included. S » Social proof: Ever been to
MooseFest? You will never see so many under-skilled paddlers huck- ing way over their head, simply be-
cause they watched 50 paddlers before them blow their line and survive. Must be safe, right? Even just watching a buddy make a run provides proof that may sway an undecided paddler. All of these human factors confound our better judgment. Peo-
ple predictably use subjective qualities to make decisions regarding objective hazards. It is like using apples to assess oranges. There is, of course, a rule to deal with these human factors (surprised?). It is simple and somewhat universal in decision-making: after you make your decision to run a rapid, ask yourself, “If I were alone and this was my first time running this river, would I make the same deci- sion?” It will strip away the subjective human factors that get in the way of good decision-making. Neuroscience tells us we need all the help we can get. —Jeff Jackson This Alchemy column first appeared in the Spring 2013 issue of Rapid.
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