Watched a participant jump to his death

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During a festival in Fayetteville, W.Va., a participant died after a parachute malfunction while BASE jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge, prompting discussions about the risks associated with the sport. Despite the tragic incident, jumping at the festival continued shortly after the recovery of the body. Participants expressed mixed feelings about the dangers of BASE jumping, with some considering it too risky and preferring skydiving as a safer alternative. Comparisons were made between the fatality rates of BASE jumping and driving, with some arguing that statistics on risks can be misleading. The conversation highlighted the differing perceptions of risk in extreme sports and everyday activities.
  • #31
Moonbear said:
Then why did you even make the comparison to driving? Your post implied that sky diving was safer than driving by comparing unrelated statistics.
Huh? I'm starting to wonder if you are screwing with me here. You are the one who is trying to compare the per-event odds for each. Saying one is "safer" than the other is too imprecise because it depends on if you are talking per event or overall odds. I am saying that the per-event odds are irrelevant because the more times you "play" the more likely you are to "win" and my calculations show the overall likelyhood of "winning" given reasonable assumptions about how often people "play". Let me try to re-explain my point as simply as I can:

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Fact: If you are a typical driver who goes skydiving once a year, you are eleven times more likely to die in a car accident than in a sky diving accident.

Logical Conclusion: It is reasonable (ie, not reckless) to go skydiving once a year because doing so does not substantially alter your overall risk of death.

I used driving as the example because the statistics are easy to find and it is something that is relatively risky, yet people still choose to do it. Call driving "safer" if you want, but the fact of the matter is that even if you skydive ten times a year, you are more likely to die in a car accident than in a skydiving accident.
 
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  • #32
russ_watters said:
Huh? I'm starting to wonder if you are screwing with me here. You are the one who is trying to compare the per-event odds for each. Saying one is "safer" than the other is too imprecise because it depends on if you are talking per event or overall odds. I am saying that the per-event odds are irrelevant because the more times you "play" the more likely you are to "win" and my calculations show the overall likelyhood of "winning" given reasonable assumptions about how often people "play". Let me try to re-explain my point as simply as I can:

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Fact: If you are a typical driver who goes skydiving once a year, you are eleven times more likely to die in a car accident than in a sky diving accident.

Logical Conclusion: It is reasonable (ie, not reckless) to go skydiving once a year because doing so does not substantially alter your overall risk of death.

I used driving as the example because the statistics are easy to find and it is something that is relatively risky, yet people still choose to do it. Call driving "safer" if you want, but the fact of the matter is that even if you skydive ten times a year, you are more likely to die in a car accident than in a skydiving accident.

:smile: I think we're on two completely different tracks here. I thought you were making a different argument entirely. At this rate, yeah, of course driving is a lot more risky, at least for me. I actually drive daily; I have zero risk of dying in a skydiving accident, unless you count the miniscule chance of a skydiver landing on me while I'm out walking somewhere. :rolleyes: I don't think that justifies skydiving as being safe though, or safer than driving. If I went skydiving as often as I drive, I'd probably be dead already.

But, then, you do realize your argument is sort of like saying you need to buy however many million lottery tickets in order to win. But, that's just the probability. In reality, someone can buy just one lottery ticket and have it be the winner. If it's your chute that tangles up, you're just as dead if it's your first jump or your 75,000th jump. If there's no need to participate in a risky activity, why do it? It does increase the overall risk. If people could avoid driving, they probably would too. I already avoid unnecessary driving. I don't just drive aimlessly out in the country for fun, I only drive when I need to get someplace. So why would I jump out of a plane if I didn't need to? Why would I even get IN a plane if I didn't need to? Not many people die of being gored by bulls every year, but that doesn't mean I'm going to jump into a bull pen just for fun and try arguing it's not going to increase my risk of death much because it happens so infrequently.
 
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  • #33
Skydiing is a pretty safe sport these days. Dropzone has a list of fatalities in the sport but i don't think it extends to BASE jumpers.

"The excitement a gambler feels is proportional to the size of his bet, and the probabillity of him winning" In Skydiving & BASE jumping you bet with your life, it doesn't get much more exciting than that.
 
  • #34
Ivan Seeking said:
To a large extent I agree, however, there are calculated risks, and then there is stupidity.

Do you wear a seat belt?
If I'm flying an aircraft, then yes.
I don't like banging my head on the ceiling.

If you're driving the car, then yes.
Chances are you'll just slam on the brakes and just run into whatever is in your way.

If I'm driving a car, then NO!
I'll be busy avoiding what's coming at me.
That's worked more times than I care to count.

I'd be dead now for about 45 years if I had been wearing one.
Once on a mountain road that flooded after a cloudburst.
I would have been skewered by the tree branch though the drivers seat.
The other on a steep downhill that iced over in July.
I would have been sliced in half by the steel guard wire that almost cut the roof off.
Good thing about that "almost" was the 400' drop I ended up hanging over.

Fortunately, seat belts didn't exist then.

Am I stupid?
Perhaps.
I'm also still alive.

Can seatbelts save your life?
Sure.
Can they kill you?
Yep.

That's the thing about statistics.
Your results may vary.