Why Do We Risk It?
(Purepoison)
Ordinary people all over the world are willing to risk their
lives for the ultimate experience- an "adrenaline buzz". What basic
human need is driving them to do it?
Risk sports are one of the fastest-growing leisure activities.
Daredevils try anything from organised bungee jumps to illegally
jumping off buildings. These people never feel so alive as when they
are risking their lives. In their quest for the ultimate sensation,
thrill-seekers are thinking up more and more elaborate sports. Zip
wiring, for example, involves sliding down a rope from the top of a
cliff suspended by a pulley attached to your ankle.
So why do some people's lives seem to be dominated by the'
thrill factor', while others are perfectly happy to sit at home by the
fire? Some say that people who do risk sports are reacting against a
society, which has become dull and constricting. David Lewis, a
psychologist, believes that people today crave adventure. In an attempt
to guarantee safety , our culture has eliminated risk. The world has
become bland ans safe place.People used to be able to seek adventure by
hunting wild animals, or taking part in expeditions. Now they turn to
risk sports as an escape.
Of all the risk sports, bungee jumping is proving the most
popular. Worldwide, one-and-a-half million people have tried it. You
hurtle toward the ground from 200 meters upand, at the last moment,
when you're about to hit the water or land and death seems certain, a
rubber band yanks you back to life. You can decide weather to jump from
a crane, a bridge or a balloon. Attached to a lenght of elastic rope,
jumpers experience a free fall of nearly 100mph, before they're slowed
by a quickly increasing pull on their ankles.
After five or six bounces jumpers are lowered on to a mattress
and set free. Almost inarticulate, they walk around with idiotic grins
on their faces. Their hands can't stop shaking, they can only use
superlatives and say repeatedly how amazing this was.
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