

Convince me to ride roller coasters - jamwt
http://shoptalkapp.com/blog/2009/9/29/convince-me-to-ride-roller-coasters

======
axod
Good advice :)

>> "Fuel peer pressure: everyone's doing it"

I'd personally add a caveat here though. You don't want to over do this. If
_too_ many people are trying to convince you to do something (Apple
evangelists, git lovers, tweetaholics), quite a few people just close off and
assume these people are madmen with an agenda.

Can end up polarizing people.

------
petercooper
Nice to see someone else had the same experience with roller coasters as me!
Same with swimming too - I wonder if kids with a "scientific head" over-
rationalize fears of things that look dangerous but that are, statistically,
quite safe.

~~~
electromagnetic
I never had a problem with roller coasters, even the ones that invert, even
the ones that invert and the harness feels loose and you fall of your seat and
know there's only a thin buckle holding you in place.

However swimming I had a problem with; I love to swim, but if anyone tries to
dunk me I panic and I have the same reaction at 21 as I did when I was 7, but
now I'm a 300lb man used to lifting 60 kilos while working so my reaction
isn't usually pretty.

I do have a strong sense of self-preservation that I've always attributed to
actually _knowing_ the risks of the things I'm doing. You'll never catch me
parachuting, because I know what the physics of a parachute failure mean.

~~~
teilo
Exactly. I am not the least bit scared of heights. Top of the arch in St.
Louis, hanging over the railing with my head pressed against the glass,
looking straight down at nothing underneath me - no problem. Why? I am in zero
danger whatsoever. If I'm not in actual danger of falling, heights are no
problem. And so I love roller coasters. Pure exhilaration (Last one I did was
New York-New York in Vegas. Outstanding at night.)

But put me on a 12/12 roof, and I can't stop shaking.

------
lurkinggrue
I have done roller coasters... I don't like them.

