Falling: How Our Greatest Fear Became Our Greatest Thrill--A History

Rating:
Summary: Let's Get Down
Review: It is a dream almost everyone has had: you are falling, falling... and then you wake up with a shock. There is even folklore that if you dream that you hit the ground, you die before you wake up (how could anyone tell this?). The universal falling dream is not mentioned in _Falling: How Our Greatest Fear Became Our Greatest Thrill - A History_ (Norton) by Garrett Soden, but the book brightly examines the universality of thinking about falling, fearing it, and enjoying it. The fascination and fear of falling is so basic that it undoubtedly came to us from our arboreal ancestors. We are land animals; if we swim or take to the air, we are doing something unnatural. The time we have been on the ground and walking upright is actually much less than the time we were in the trees. We fear falling, but we get a kick out of a controlled fall, perhaps because controlled falling was necessary as we swung among the trees, and uncontrolled falling was to be avoided. We are newcomers to the flat world, but we carry with us instinctive respect for the power of gravity, and for the kicks it can give us.

It is a surprise that a history could be written about falling, but according to Soden, the real history of falling starts in the eighteenth century. Before that time, people were simply terrified of it. Even acrobats stuck basically to the ground and did not fall very far. Not only did people do their best to avoid high falls, they did not for amusement watch others risking high falls. But in the eighteenth century gravity performers became stars. Springboard leapers, mountaineers, and parachutists gave audiences thrills. Many authorities detested that the public liked such things, even though the performers insisted that they were making scientific explorations, not barbarous entertainments. The movies proved to be a fine showcase for falling stunts, and stuntmen became a new profession. Many of the gravity activities have now blossomed into the "Extreme Sports" that are popular with young people. BMX biking, skateboarding, barefoot water-ski jumping, bungee jumping, and free-solo rock climbing (without ropes) all have their adherents, and their place on television. If you lack coordination for such activities, there is always the amusement park.

Although much of this book is devoted to "not falling" or at least not getting hurt in doing so, there is also a serious review of risk-taking and what sort of people do it. Research has shown that the "death wish" hypothesized by Freud is simply not working in those who take part in such activities, although it may seem to the rest of us that they are getting excitement by courting death. There are high-sensation types and low-sensation types, but the high-sensation types don't enjoy risk any more than anyone else. For instance, they use such things as seat belts and condoms at the same rate as most people. It turns out that high-risk people who are engaged in such things as free-solo rock climbing do the simple, rational thing: they reduce risk by increasing their skill. It may well be that the neural wiring of the highs is indeed different from the lows and may be able to process lots of incoming data more efficiently. Soden goes on to show that our languages reflect the negative nature of falls, as in "falling down on the job". Icarus fell, and Lucifer fell. Yet we chase the sensation of falling, or the danger of a potential fall. Soden's surprising book gives amusing insight into the paradoxical attractiveness of rapid descent.

Rating:
Summary: Let's Get Down
Review: It is a dream almost everyone has had: you are falling, falling... and then you wake up with a shock. There is even folklore that if you dream that you hit the ground, you die before you wake up (how could anyone tell this?). The universal falling dream is not mentioned in _Falling: How Our Greatest Fear Became Our Greatest Thrill - A History_ (Norton) by Garrett Soden, but the book brightly examines the universality of thinking about falling, fearing it, and enjoying it. The fascination and fear of falling is so basic that it undoubtedly came to us from our arboreal ancestors. We are land animals; if we swim or take to the air, we are doing something unnatural. The time we have been on the ground and walking upright is actually much less than the time we were in the trees. We fear falling, but we get a kick out of a controlled fall, perhaps because controlled falling was necessary as we swung among the trees, and uncontrolled falling was to be avoided. We are newcomers to the flat world, but we carry with us instinctive respect for the power of gravity, and for the kicks it can give us.

It is a surprise that a history could be written about falling, but according to Soden, the real history of falling starts in the eighteenth century. Before that time, people were simply terrified of it. Even acrobats stuck basically to the ground and did not fall very far. Not only did people do their best to avoid high falls, they did not for amusement watch others risking high falls. But in the eighteenth century gravity performers became stars. Springboard leapers, mountaineers, and parachutists gave audiences thrills. Many authorities detested that the public liked such things, even though the performers insisted that they were making scientific explorations, not barbarous entertainments. The movies proved to be a fine showcase for falling stunts, and stuntmen became a new profession. Many of the gravity activities have now blossomed into the "Extreme Sports" that are popular with young people. BMX biking, skateboarding, barefoot water-ski jumping, bungee jumping, and free-solo rock climbing (without ropes) all have their adherents, and their place on television. If you lack coordination for such activities, there is always the amusement park.

Although much of this book is devoted to "not falling" or at least not getting hurt in doing so, there is also a serious review of risk-taking and what sort of people do it. Research has shown that the "death wish" hypothesized by Freud is simply not working in those who take part in such activities, although it may seem to the rest of us that they are getting excitement by courting death. There are high-sensation types and low-sensation types, but the high-sensation types don't enjoy risk any more than anyone else. For instance, they use such things as seat belts and condoms at the same rate as most people. It turns out that high-risk people who are engaged in such things as free-solo rock climbing do the simple, rational thing: they reduce risk by increasing their skill. It may well be that the neural wiring of the highs is indeed different from the lows and may be able to process lots of incoming data more efficiently. Soden goes on to show that our languages reflect the negative nature of falls, as in "falling down on the job". Icarus fell, and Lucifer fell. Yet we chase the sensation of falling, or the danger of a potential fall. Soden's surprising book gives amusing insight into the paradoxical attractiveness of rapid descent.