I wanted to do a series of posts to introduce some “Mind Traps” or ways our mind, and our fixed bias, can play tricks on us. Some of these mind traps are so simple but with the slightest of ease become deadly. In his article , “Deadly Mind Traps”, Jeff Wise outlines six ways in which we unwittingly propel ourselves into disaster.
- Redlining
- The Domino Effect
- Situational Blindness
- Double or Nothing
- Bending the Map
I want to start out this series with the idea of redlining. I spend a lot of time talking to teenagers and parents about the importance of boundaries and why they are needed. Redlining is a great example of how not keeping boundaries can, at times, be deadly. Here is how Jeff Wise introduces us to the idea of Redlining:
Mountain climbing at high altitudes is a race against time. Human endurance is severely limited in the face of extreme cold and limited oxygen, and windows of good weather can shut abruptly. Lingering too long is an invitation to disaster, so when preparing a final push to the summit, mountaineers need to set a turnaround time and strictly abide by it.
The consequence of failing to heed this sacred rule was made gruesomely manifest on May 10, 1996. On that date an unprecedented number of climbers were preparing to make the final stage of their ascent of Everest, including two commercial teams of 16 customers who had paid as much as $65,000 each to reach the top of the world. For expedition leader Rob Hall, getting his clients safely to the top and back meant abiding by a turnaround time of 2 p.m. But all morning, miscommunication slowed the climbers’ progress.
The turnaround time came and went. One by one, climbers straggled to the top, briefly celebrated, then descended. Hall remained, waiting for the last of his clients to summit. Finally, at 4 p.m., the final straggler arrived, and Hall headed down. But it was too late. Already, a deadly storm system had begun to close in, lashing the mountain with hurricane-force winds and whiteout snow. Stuck on Everest’s exposed face, eight climbers died, one by one. Hall was one of the last to succumb. Trapped a few hundred feet below the summit, paralyzed by the cold and a lack of oxygen, he radioed his colleagues at base camp and was patched through via satellite to his wife back home in New Zealand. “Sleep well, my sweetheart,” he told her. “Please don’t worry too much.” Today his body remains where he sat.
He continues,
Hall fell victim to a simple but insidious cognitive error common to many types of high-pressure undertakings. I call it “redlining.” Anytime we plan a mission that requires us to set a safety parameter, there’s a risk that in the heat of the moment we’ll be tempted to overstep it. Divers see an interesting wreck or coral formation just beyond the maximum limit of their dive tables. Airplane pilots descend through clouds to their minimum safe altitude, fail to see the runway, and decide to go just a little bit lower.
I would add to Wise’ sentiments that redlining doesn’t just happen to mountain climbers, pilots, and scuba divers. It happens with peer pressure, drug use, pornography, self harm, promiscuity, bullying, sexual orientation, religious culture, stress, work environments, family pressures, and so much more. People are put into high-pressure situations all the time.
So what do we do to avoid disasters like the one that befell professional hiker/climber Rob Hall?
Stay tuned…