

An Antarctic state of mind - bootload
http://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/an-antarctic-state-of-mind/?src=recg

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jeffool
I actually looked up what it would take to get a support job in McMurdo years
back. The appeal of the type of person who would seek out that desolate place
is a fascinating thought. To look at what draws a person to that frontier,
both the science aspect and the social one. I thought it'd make a good blog.

Harder than I first assumed. Apparently even dishwashers there have PhDs. And
my idea wasn't completely original. There are of course plenty of
documentaries about the place. And more than a couple of blogs by specific
teams about what they're doing. I just rarely see ones about the people. And
I'm curious if it really does take an Antarctic state of mind.

~~~
bootload
_"... I'm curious if it really does take an Antarctic state of mind. ..."_

Great question. I keep a list of these articles as I've have an interest in
how ppl perform in unusual or dangerous situations. Here's a couple of
articles I can think of:

A) How we decide under difficult circumstances in real time

 _"'...There are no formal guidelines issued to climbers, and we don't know
the risk it might have meant for their own lives. But can it ever be right, in
the words of mountain leaders Chris and Simon Holloway, for climbers to "carry
on to the summit, while there are living people dying behind them"? Ben
Yehuda, a former soldier, described his decision to stop as 'automatic' ..."_

Jon Henley, _"Mount Everest: the ethical dilemma facing climbers"_ ~
[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/shortcuts/2012/may/28/mount-...](http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/shortcuts/2012/may/28/mount-
everest-ethical-dilemma)

B) Handling extreme mental & physical challenges

 _"It's important to learn how to function while being fatigued," he explains.
... Without realizing it, Espiritu had taken advantage of some of the major
techniques that allow people to maximize their hardiness."_

1) Modify your perspective

2) Lean on your friends

3) Laugh

4) Keep your head down

5) Exercise

Jeff Wise, _"An Ultramarathoner's 5 Secrets of Toughness"_ ~
[http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/extreme-
fear/201005/ultr...](http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/extreme-
fear/201005/ultramarathoners-5-secrets-toughness)

C) How you slide into trouble in cold remote environments

 _"... In the book, Krakauer alleges that essential safety methods adopted
over the years by experienced guides on Everest are sometimes compromised by
the competition between rival guiding agencies to get their clients (some with
little or no mountaineering experience) to the summit. ..."_

Jon Krakauer, _"Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest
Disaster"_ ~ <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Thin_Air#Summary>

D) Special forces selection is a process that maximises the necessary state of
mind for multiple unforgiving environments.

 _"... "The Gift of Fear" that if you afraid of something, that's good because
it hasn't actually happened yet. Think about it, when a new recruit is
standing on the edge of a 40-foot repel tower, he's not afraid of being that
high off the ground anymore, he's afraid of falling. If he were to fall off
the tower, well then he's certainly not fearful of falling anymore, he's more
concerned with landing....you get the idea, right? So when we think about it
like that, why is just a thought enough to make us quit and what can we do
about it. It is at these time that you have to have some "rules" in place that
you can go to immediatley to replace those cancerous thoughts of fear and
doubt ..."_

Dr. Dave Ricciuti, _"Surviving the Cut, the Spartan Death Race, and Life!"_ ~
[http://tacticalpsych.com/2/post/2012/06/surviving-the-cut-
th...](http://tacticalpsych.com/2/post/2012/06/surviving-the-cut-the-spartan-
death-race-and-life.html)

