Re: [Paddlewise] Seeing Red

On Mon, Dec 7, 2009 at 9:01 PM, Michael Orchard <mspadorchard_at_comcast.net>wrote:

>
> I suspect that Mr. Kim was not aware of the hazzards of the weather that he
> was getting into..... and although he was likely a very bright fellow, that
> tragedy is a reminder that the outdoors are unforgiving.  Surviving an
> unexpected outdoors mishapd is not so much based on intelligence, as on a
> wealth of experience... yours and that of others you can learn from.
>
> An important insight, I think. Intelligence and knowledge are two entirely
different things. I am reminded (for no good reason) of when my job required
me to learn languages. It turned out that I had a knack for languages and
could mimic accents pretty well. But I also discovered that being fluent in
a language was no guarantee that I would understand everything. Every
culture has a vocabulary and if you don't know the words in that vocabulary
(is that redundant?) you can be technically fluent but still have no clue.
So the medical culture has a vocabulary, the welding culture has a
vocabulary, and the outdoor culture has a vocabulary. It's hard enough to
make sense of those in one's native language.

Maybe the signs on that road were in the wrong vocabulary. "A possibility
exists that hypothermia may set in should perambulation continue along this
route!" might not convey the right sort of urgency to someone from another
country.

Sometimes I think signs should be simpler and more direct: "YOU ARE GOING TO
FREEZE YOUR ASS OFF IF YOU KEEP GOING!", "STARVATION AND DEATH AHEAD", "NO
ONE IS GOING TO COME LOOKING FOR YOU", etc.

Then again, maybe I just need another cup of coffee. Temp outside was 8F
when I got up, bright and sunny. It's that damn Canadian air that's doing
this to us. If we could keep the Canadian air up north where it belongs the
temps would be warm and comfy. Maybe we could build a fence......

Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************