One should not talk about things one does not really understand, such as saying, “I am so high like I have taken drugs.” It is no difference to the frog living in a well but talks about the ocean, or the insect only survives in summer talks about winter. Of course, some people do so with a hidden agenda.

An article from The Economist discussed why some people would risk their lives and participate in extreme sports like wingsuit flying. From the perspective of species evolution, it is human nature to avoid risk to survive. Human society has paid a heavy price in the past year to fight the pandemic because we want to prevent ourselves from getting infected and dying. So why, at the same time, so many people want to jump off the cliff wearing just a wingsuit and a parachute or climb a nearly vertical steep without a safety rope, knowing they will fall into their death if something goes wrong?

The author of the article did not make a wicked inference that the risk-takers must be so high on drugs and have lost their senses, but instead, try to consider the reason from different angles. Are they doing it for money? The sponsoring fee from energy drinks is not so high as people think, so most risk-takers earn very little. Are they doing it to become an influencer? Many social media platforms and YouTube are, indeed, filled with extreme sports videos. But unless, touch wood, the person in the video died in an accident, the videos would otherwise not be so popular. Furthermore, many extreme sports lovers have fun when away from the camera anyway.

Would they be after that adrenaline rush? The wingsuit fliers said it is completely the opposite. They need to control their adrenaline rush, their heartbeat has to be steady, and they have to stay calm so that they can accurately control every step of their move. That is where the fun is, a sense of control. They have to train their physical fitness, psychology, research the route and terrain, and arrange the equipment. They are required to be perseverant, disciplined, patient, and not reckless.

Evolutionary psychologists have done an experiment in which young men put on VR glasses and cross a virtual wobbly bridge. The young men would speed up when being watched by females. The conclusion is, men in their puberty might take some risky actions to demonstrate their fitness, like a peacock opening its tail to attract the opposite sex. But many extreme sports athletes are in their 30s or 40s and not in puberty because extreme sports are expensive, and younger people cannot usually afford them.

The last paragraph of the article tries to explain their motive with a real story. Steph Davis is an American who loves climbing and wingsuit flying. When her husband died eight years ago during a wingsuit flying accident, she was devastated and gave up the sports for a while. But on New Year’s Eve, four months later, she decided not to endure but enjoy life. She geared up and headed to the cliff she went with her late husband on New Year’s Eve a year ago. She was scared but when she jumped off and flew into the sky, she felt a sense of release. “There is no way to avoid risk in life. The real risk is in making your life small.”

The author wrote in the end, “But humans crave freedom, not just security.”

(Chan Pui-man, associate publisher of Apple Daily)

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