Old Spleens Suck (2021)
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Old Spleens Suck (2021)
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Re: Old Spleens Suck (2021)
#2I honestly expected this article to be about the other meaning of spleen, a melancholy or depressive longing (as in Baudelaire’s “Le spleen de Paris”). Something about looking forward, giving up old spleens, etc.
Instead it’s genuinely interesting information about how an organ changes over time.
Re: Old Spleens Suck (2021)
#3There’s another interesting spleen fact that I remember reading: people who survive flight ejections and hitting water at high speed tend to have had their spleens removed.
Probably because otherwise the impact causes a rupture and you bleed out too quickly to survive.
Re: Old Spleens Suck (2021)
#4There’s another interesting spleen fact that I remember reading: people who survive flight ejections and hitting water at high speed tend to have had their spleens removed. Probably because otherwise the impact causes a rupture and you bleed out too quickly to survive.
What do you mean by “flight ejections”? Are we talking about ejection seat activations in military aircraft?
This factoid sounds very suspect. Doesn’t most people who need to activate an ejection seat survive spleen or no spleen? Deaths may occur of course, an ejection is not without risks, but if everyone or nearly everyone with a spleen dies then my understanding of the risk associated with an ejection is seriously miscalibrated.
Also the group of “active military pilots who had their spleen removed” must be a small group, likewise “military pilot who needed to activate an ejection seat” is a small group (but probably a bigger one than the spleenless group). So one would expect that there is almost nobody in the intersection of these two rarefied sets.
Obviously this is all very handwavy reasoning, so who knows. But if you have a source that would be highly appreciated.
Re: Old Spleens Suck (2021)
#5There’s another interesting spleen fact that I remember reading: people who survive flight ejections and hitting water at high speed tend to have had their spleens removed. Probably because otherwise the impact causes a rupture and you bleed out too quickly to survive.
What do you mean by “flight ejections”? Are we talking about ejection seat activations in military aircraft? This factoid sounds very suspect. Doesn’t most people who need to activate an ejection seat survive spleen or no spleen? Deaths may occur of course, an ejection is not without risks, but if everyone or nearly everyone with a spleen dies then my understanding of the risk associated with an ejection is seriously…
The risk of injury in ejection is quite a bit higher than most people expect (typically over 25% towards 50% for older tech ejection seats). It’s still a way better scenario than riding it in.
It is not uncommon for an ejection to end a pilot’s tactical jet flying days for medical reasons.
Re: Old Spleens Suck (2021)
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you mean by “flight ejections”? Are we talking about ejection seat activations in military aircraft? This factoid sounds very suspect. Doesn’t most people who need to activate an ejection seat survive spleen or no spleen? Deaths may occur of course, an ejection is not without risks, but if everyone or nearly everyone with a spleen dies then my understanding of the risk associated with an ejection is seriously…
The risk of injury in ejection is quite a bit higher than most people expect (typically over 25% towards 50% for older tech ejection seats). It’s still a way better scenario than riding it in. It is not uncommon for an ejection to end a pilot’s tactical jet flying days for medical reasons.
Doesn't everyone remember what happened to Goose?
Re: Old Spleens Suck (2021)
#7There’s another interesting spleen fact that I remember reading: people who survive flight ejections and hitting water at high speed tend to have had their spleens removed. Probably because otherwise the impact causes a rupture and you bleed out too quickly to survive.
This does come up in the story of Cliff Judkins, a Marine Corps pilot who, in 1963, survived a fall of 15,000 feet into the Pacific Ocean. He had had his spleen removed a few years earlier, and a doctor told him that was probably a factor in his not being killed by the impact. Judkins' account is worth a read:
Re: Old Spleens Suck (2021)
#8There’s another interesting spleen fact that I remember reading: people who survive flight ejections and hitting water at high speed tend to have had their spleens removed. Probably because otherwise the impact causes a rupture and you bleed out too quickly to survive.
What do you mean by “flight ejections”? Are we talking about ejection seat activations in military aircraft? This factoid sounds very suspect. Doesn’t most people who need to activate an ejection seat survive spleen or no spleen? Deaths may occur of course, an ejection is not without risks, but if everyone or nearly everyone with a spleen dies then my understanding of the risk associated with an ejection is seriously…
Ejection seats are likely to cause spinal fractures (20~30% by one study) and broken legs (no numbers). Tests on the F-35 showed lighter pilots could have their necks broken by the heavier helmet, so they had to add a switch that will slow down the ejection sequence.
Re: Old Spleens Suck (2021)
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you mean by “flight ejections”? Are we talking about ejection seat activations in military aircraft? This factoid sounds very suspect. Doesn’t most people who need to activate an ejection seat survive spleen or no spleen? Deaths may occur of course, an ejection is not without risks, but if everyone or nearly everyone with a spleen dies then my understanding of the risk associated with an ejection is seriously…
The risk of injury in ejection is quite a bit higher than most people expect (typically over 25% towards 50% for older tech ejection seats). It’s still a way better scenario than riding it in. It is not uncommon for an ejection to end a pilot’s tactical jet flying days for medical reasons.
> The risk of injury in ejection is quite a bit higher than most people expect
I agree with you on that. But the question here is risk of death, not risk of injury.
I don’t have reliable statistics but found this[1] article which says about ejections: “If you look at statistics around the world, the survival rate is greater than 92 per cent.”
1: https://amp.smh.com.au/education/how-dangerous-is-it-to-ejec...
Re: Old Spleens Suck (2021)
#10I think it is obvious at this point that the human body is designed to self-destruct, causing death at old age, once a certain biological threshold is reached. Resistance to this idea comes not from a rational perspective, but a semi-religious belief that your own body would not betray you.