Danger Is My Middle Name

I, for one, am not into horror movies, let alone bungee jumping off a 400 meter bridge over torrential waters. Some people thrive on such things. What are they trying to prove?

Some people have no fear. Is that a good thing?

Truth be told, when you go to a circus and you see them flying through the air on a trapeze without a net, you go "Wow. I wish I could do that". But at the same time you think that the guy who shoves his head inside the mouth of a lion is just an idiot.

When I was younger I used to launch my bike (with me on it) from an elevated ramp over bricks and other items. I did this without the slightest hesitation - no fear on two wheels. But once, when I was about twelve years old, I went to a swimming pool where there was a three-meter diving board. After ten minutes of psyching myself up, I managed to climb the ladder and jump into the water. What a rush. Really, it was. But you see, that is different from, say, sky-diving. With jumping off a diving board into a pool, you really know in your heart of hearts that it is not dangerous - and you can see others jumping off the diving board all afternoon. So it isn't that difficult to convince yourself to do it. With sky-diving, well, even though you can see others jumping out of the plane you know in your heart of hearts that the dangers are very real and that there are so many variables that the chance of something going wrong is higher. So it is far more difficult to convince yourself to take the plunge.

Apparently there exists a "danger gene". According to this article in Science News (November 2005) scientists discovered that there is a gene that controls fear, at least in mice. If you remove that gene, you get interesting results. The scientist being interviewed says that, "The results suggest a genetic explanation for why some people are daredevils while others are racked by phobias". I hope that I fall somewhere in between.

Work took us on an outing last week. One of the activities was to crawl through a cave. The entrance was not very wide and you really had to get down on your belly to crawl inside the cave. I found that I couldn't do it. I tried twice but I really couldn't go through with it. I started to feel sick as soon as I poked my head into the cave. I opted out and waited top-side for the others to emerge. I suppose that I discovered that either I am claustrophobic or that the thought of crawling through underground crevices with tons of rock overhead doesn't thrill me. Either excuse will do.