Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Colin O’Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica with Final 32-Hour Push

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 134 posts

Re: Colin O’Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica with Final 32-Hour Push

#111

Post by beefield »

maxxxxx wrote: post #5

Just this week I read a story about Henry Worsley who died trying the same thing: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/12/the-white-dark... . After reading, I wonder if you have to a certain level of insanity for doing something like this.

> I wonder if you have to a certain level of insanity for doing something like this.

My assumption is that people want and need some level of "excitement"[1] to feel like living a meaningful life. Say, in scale 1-10, if you only get exposure to level 1 excitement, you kill yourself to avoid a boring life, occasional level 5 keeps your life interesting, 7-8 starts to be so uncomfortable that you rather avoid and 10 is so much that you rather kill yourself than expose yourself to this level of excitement.

Now, the problem is that same things give very different levels of excitement. There are people for whom game of Monopoly is level 5 excitement. And there are people for whom game of Monopoly is solid level 1 excitement.

With this model you see why some people decide to take risks some other find outright stupid or insane. So next time you think someone is doing something insanely risky, you might want to think how fulfilling your life would be if the things you do to get emotions would be stripped from you before calling the persons with pejorative adjectives...

[1]no, I have no good definition for this word

Re: Colin O’Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica with Final 32-Hour Push

#112

Post by tertius »

FPGAhacker wrote: post #21
maxxxxx wrote: post #5

Just this week I read a story about Henry Worsley who died trying the same thing: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/12/the-white-dark... . After reading, I wonder if you have to a certain level of insanity for doing something like this.

I don't know, but it's an interesting thought. What drives someone do to this? I'm in awe of it. It seems to me that it has to be tied to finding meaning in life one way or another. I have to wonder though, how long does it take for the afterglow of such a massive accomplishment to wear off and to start asking yourself "what now?"

It's all about the process not the end goal.

Re: Colin O’Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica with Final 32-Hour Push

#113

Post by msiyer »

beefield wrote: post #111
maxxxxx wrote: post #5

Just this week I read a story about Henry Worsley who died trying the same thing: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/12/the-white-dark... . After reading, I wonder if you have to a certain level of insanity for doing something like this.

> I wonder if you have to a certain level of insanity for doing something like this. My assumption is that people want and need some level of "excitement"[1] to feel like living a meaningful life. Say, in scale 1-10, if you only get exposure to level 1 excitement, you kill yourself to avoid a boring life, occasional level 5 keeps your life interesting, 7-8 starts to be so uncomfortable that you rather avoid and 10 is…

This model is good.

To me, the whole point of doing something like this is that there is no point. It matters, at the moment, to the guy doing it and that is all that matters.

A couple of years back, I rode my motorcycle for 18 hours with only fuel breaks. 8 hours of the ride was in 40+ degree Celsius heat and the next 10 hours I had to endure the monsoons. I loved the whole experience. What did I gain from it? In the grand scheme of things, nothing. Will I do it again? Yes, already planning another trip.

Life seems pointless to me. I just try to have some fun along the way.

Re: Colin O’Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica with Final 32-Hour Push

#114

Post by fiblye »

x43b wrote: post #101
gumby wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe frosting is mostly fat by weight. Nevertheless butter beats it, pretty much by definition.

https://www.pillsburybaking.com/products/creamy-supreme/clas... Looks like a >4:1 carb:fat ratio by weight.

But eating cake frosting by the spoonful is far easier and more pleasing than downing pure butter or olive oil.

(speaking from experience)

Re: Colin O’Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica with Final 32-Hour Push

#115

Post by enraged_camel »

msiyer wrote: post #113
beefield wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wonder if you have to a certain level of insanity for doing something like this. My assumption is that people want and need some level of "excitement"[1] to feel like living a meaningful life. Say, in scale 1-10, if you only get exposure to level 1 excitement, you kill yourself to avoid a boring life, occasional level 5 keeps your life interesting, 7-8 starts to be so uncomfortable that you rather avoid and 10 is…

This model is good. To me, the whole point of doing something like this is that there is no point. It matters, at the moment, to the guy doing it and that is all that matters. A couple of years back, I rode my motorcycle for 18 hours with only fuel breaks. 8 hours of the ride was in 40+ degree Celsius heat and the next 10 hours I had to endure the monsoons. I loved the whole experience. What did I gain from it? In th…

>>To me, the whole point of doing something like this is that there is no point. It matters, at the moment, to the guy doing it and that is all that matters.

Extreme adversity can be a opportunity for tremendous amounts of learning and personal growth. Some people value that.

Re: Colin O’Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica with Final 32-Hour Push

#116

Post by DanBC »

fiblye wrote: post #114
x43b wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.pillsburybaking.com/products/creamy-supreme/clas... Looks like a >4:1 carb:fat ratio by weight.

But eating cake frosting by the spoonful is far easier and more pleasing than downing pure butter or olive oil. (speaking from experience)

And climbers already have an equivalent of cake frosting: kendal mint cake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendal_Mint_Cake

Re: Colin O’Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica with Final 32-Hour Push

#117

Post by Chris_Chambers »

gameswithgo wrote: post #40
tunesmith wrote: post #32

Is it easier now because of climate change? (Not to take anything away from the accomplishment, it might actually be harder due to how climate change works.)

It wouldn't change how far he was going, as he was crossing the actual land part, not ice extent. Might be 1 or 2 degrees warmer than it was 50 years ago or something.

Please provide a source for your claim regarding the alleged increased temperature.

Re: Colin O’Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica with Final 32-Hour Push

#118

Post by jnurmine »

tootie wrote: post #65
maxxxxx wrote: post #5

Just this week I read a story about Henry Worsley who died trying the same thing: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/12/the-white-dark... . After reading, I wonder if you have to a certain level of insanity for doing something like this.

I read that and just thought this guy is a moron. There's no discovery, no profit, just vanity.

I thought it was a real adventure, an extreme form of hiking in a very extreme and cold environment, as well as an exercise in managing risks. I have the impression that he did it just to see if it can be done, as a kind of personal adventure, as a way to win a victory over himself.

I recently read an interview of a retired ex-paratrooper who lost his friend to Piteraq in Greenland (similar katabatic winds exist at Antarctica), the tent broke, exposing the people and they froze to death. With winds up to ca. 80 m/s and double-digit subzero temperatures, the wind chill effect is insane and a new shelter must be up within minutes.

It was a dangerous undertaking, no doubt. But then again so was Thor Heyerdahl with his raft, and Apollo 11 with the flight to the Moon, and so on.

Tip: if you want to concretely experience extreme cold, and the sheer brutalness of it, look up a cryotherapy room. -110 C or so for a few minutes while wearing swimming gear (and some cover for the extremities) felt like a hopeless, prolonged open ice swimming without the immediate endorphin rush (which eventually did come sometime later).

Re: Colin O’Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica with Final 32-Hour Push

#119

Post by _8j50 »

kakarot wrote: post #84
_8j50 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What now? Time for sun cost fallacy Thinking a lot does that. It's not just searching for meaning of life and a higher purpose but also realizing how this is the only life you get to have and it is very short. I'd compare people who do this to suiciders,they've both contemplated their current lives intolerable and found a way out: One way is through it,the other is around and both routes are one-way.

Sun cost fallacy is when I don't put on SPF protection thinking it won't be that bad out on the beach today.

Ha! Nice one,will fix typo if it lets me.

Re: Colin O’Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica with Final 32-Hour Push

#120

Post by hanley »

tunesmith wrote: post #32

Is it easier now because of climate change? (Not to take anything away from the accomplishment, it might actually be harder due to how climate change works.)

It was actually much harder this year due to unexpected higher temperatures for this time of year, more snowfall, and whiteout conditions which all led to slower skiing. Many explorers failed to accomplish their goals this year due to poor conditions.

https://explorersweb.com/category/poles/antarctic/

Post reply on HN