DataDan
Mama says he's bona fide
Risk is part of riding a motorcycle. That doesn’t mean you have to be a daredevil, but you do have to accept more of it than the average person does. In this thread, I’m going to discuss some ideas about risk-taking in motorcycling. As you might expect, my take isn’t quite the same as you’ll get from MSF or David Hough (whose book Proficient Motorcycling covers the subject well, BTW). Instead, I’m going to try to show that enjoyment of risk is an inherent human trait. I’ll describe a model of risk-taking in which we continuously adjust risk to keep it at an acceptable level. And I’ll try to persuade you to reduce your risk by analyzing your mistakes and those of other riders and other motorists.
A recent Time Magazine article asserts that “risk-taking, by definition, defies logic,” and according to the article, risky behavior is driven by the release of dopamine, the body’s feel-good chemical. Why would Mother Nature play that dirty trick on us—basically encouraging harmful behavior? When we take risks, we're likely to get hurt or die, making it less likely our genes will survive into the next generation. Yet the trait evolved and persists, so can it really be so illogical? Risk-taking must have an upside that outweighs the downside.
When you think about it, progress throughout human history can be seen as a result of risk-taking. Our species evolved in African woodlands, but in just a hundred thousand years or so spread to five other continents with environments so different they might as well be different planets. Along the way we tamed animals to carry our stuff and ourselves, learned to hunt frighteningly large game, and sailed across vast oceans to distant lands. All of this exploration and environment-taming involved risk. So in much of the past, the real danger wasn’t in the risk of the unknown, it was in stagnating while others discovered new habitats and invented ways to exploit them. No wonder Mother Nature came to favor and reward risk.
We are, in fact, a species bred to take risks. But modern society tries to legislate and regulate it out of our lives, and most people—like the Time reporter—can’t even grasp why an affinity for risk-taking exists. So in our over-padded, warning-labeled world, we have to invent ways to enjoy risk. We skydive, we climb sheer rock faces, we drop down into 20-foot waves just ahead of a collapsing wall of water. And, of course, we ride motorcycles.
But enjoying a bit of risk doesn’t mean giving in blindly to the thrill-seeking urge. We have limits, which vary widely from one person to the next, and we adjust the actual risk we experience to keep it within our personal limits. I'll describe the theory of risk compensation in a later post.
What do you think about the risk of motorcycling and about your own affinity or avoidance of risk? Here are a few questions to ponder:
A recent Time Magazine article asserts that “risk-taking, by definition, defies logic,” and according to the article, risky behavior is driven by the release of dopamine, the body’s feel-good chemical. Why would Mother Nature play that dirty trick on us—basically encouraging harmful behavior? When we take risks, we're likely to get hurt or die, making it less likely our genes will survive into the next generation. Yet the trait evolved and persists, so can it really be so illogical? Risk-taking must have an upside that outweighs the downside.
When you think about it, progress throughout human history can be seen as a result of risk-taking. Our species evolved in African woodlands, but in just a hundred thousand years or so spread to five other continents with environments so different they might as well be different planets. Along the way we tamed animals to carry our stuff and ourselves, learned to hunt frighteningly large game, and sailed across vast oceans to distant lands. All of this exploration and environment-taming involved risk. So in much of the past, the real danger wasn’t in the risk of the unknown, it was in stagnating while others discovered new habitats and invented ways to exploit them. No wonder Mother Nature came to favor and reward risk.
We are, in fact, a species bred to take risks. But modern society tries to legislate and regulate it out of our lives, and most people—like the Time reporter—can’t even grasp why an affinity for risk-taking exists. So in our over-padded, warning-labeled world, we have to invent ways to enjoy risk. We skydive, we climb sheer rock faces, we drop down into 20-foot waves just ahead of a collapsing wall of water. And, of course, we ride motorcycles.
But enjoying a bit of risk doesn’t mean giving in blindly to the thrill-seeking urge. We have limits, which vary widely from one person to the next, and we adjust the actual risk we experience to keep it within our personal limits. I'll describe the theory of risk compensation in a later post.
What do you think about the risk of motorcycling and about your own affinity or avoidance of risk? Here are a few questions to ponder:
- Compared to your non-motorcycling friends, do you consider yourself a risk taker or a risk avoider?
- Do you come from a risk-taking family? Were you a risk-taking kid?
- What other kinds of recreational activities do you enjoy?
- Does your job involve risk (not necessarily physical)? If you trade commodity futures for a living, you may get a bigger hit of that dopamine reward in a typical trading day than you ever get while riding.