Steve Cramer wrote: > > > Another question has occurred to me: how did people know they were > "panicked?" They were screaming and waving their hands? What else would > they do? I'd think estimating someone's emotional state from 1/4 mile > away is iffy. I think I made clear that the drowning people were being observed from a popular promenade along a big city park's seawall and were just 100 or so feet away (the marina's closest docks were about a fifth of a mile away at most; that is why abandoning your kayak to serve as a large float was a low-risk possibility). They were yelling that they could not swim and people were imploring them to not panic and try to float, that help was being called, etc. That was the horror of it all, watching two people drown in what was, except for some wakes, a pretty benign looking situation. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
ralph diaz wrote: > > Steve Cramer wrote: > > > > > > Another question has occurred to me: how did people know they were > > "panicked?" They were screaming and waving their hands? What else would > > they do? I'd think estimating someone's emotional state from 1/4 mile > > away is iffy. > > I think I made clear that the drowning people were being observed from a > popular promenade along a big city park's seawall and were just 100 or > so feet away Ah, yes, I'm sure you did. The cloudiness was surely on my part. Still, I wonder what behaviors are observable from 100 feet that distinguish scared from terrified from frantic from panicky. Steve *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Steve Cramer writes: > ralph diaz wrote: > > > > Steve Cramer wrote: > > > > > > > > > Another question has occurred to me: how did people know they were > > > "panicked?" They were screaming and waving their hands? What else would > > > they do? I'd think estimating someone's emotional state from 1/4 mile > > > away is iffy. > > > > I think I made clear that the drowning people were being observed from a > > popular promenade along a big city park's seawall and were just 100 or > > so feet away > > Ah, yes, I'm sure you did. The cloudiness was surely on my part. Still, > I wonder what behaviors are observable from 100 feet that distinguish > scared from terrified from frantic from panicky. Its all supposition &/or projection[1]. This brings us around to the discussion of objectivity. Even if we were present, many of us would have differing opinions on what the victims behavior meant. In the end, its still a rapidly made judgement call. If you have real world experience with panicked non-swimmers then it might help you in making a judgement about rendering assistance. The more likely scenario is that you end up doing what you can by the seat of your pants and hope its the best thing. I do find this 'what if' scenario fascinating. By mulling over the possibilities, I feel that I may have a few more options for dealing with similar emergencies. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- snark_at_tulgey.org aka Glen Acord http://www.tulgey.org/~snark if ($snark eq "boojum") {vanish("softly","suddenly")} [1] Its a pretty good assumption the victims were 'panicked'. After all, if I was a non swimmer and starting to drown, *I'd* feel panic. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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