Interesting Articles...

[whYME]

is the part that makes it difficult to understand.  I was into a mildly dangerous sport with a very low fatality rate and I stopped soon after I got married.  It didn't involve very hard work and super cooperative weather conditions to stay alive.

I guess think about it as an addiction. What do you once you've already conquered the the easier, less-dangerous things? what do you do for your fix now?

[Boruch999]

Why do people skydive? Adrenaline rush from the thrill, isn't it?

Skydiving, done right, is not a coin toss of survival.  It is definitely in the category of things I would have done before I was married, along with flying lessons.  I get that people are pulled to the thrill of the challenge.  What I don't get is why the dismal survival rate doesn't push them back.

ETA

Nanga Parbat has been killing European climbers since the West discovered it in the late 19th century. The locals in North Pakistan call it diamir, or “huge mountain.” But the mountaineering community has another name for it: Killer Mountain.

[whYME]

What I don't get is why the dismal survival rate doesn't push them back.

For some people this is worth dying for.

Kind of the לעומת זה of "אבּער נישׁט פויערישע יארען"

[ExGingi]

For some people this is worth dying for.

Kind of the לעומת זה of "אבּער נישׁט פויערישע יארען"

For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the quote:

http://chabadlibrary.org/books/admur/hymym/13/6.htm
http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/5966/jewish/Hayom-Yom-Cheshvan-6.htm

[ExGingi]

Skydiving, done right, is not a coin toss of survival.  It is definitely in the category of things I would have done before I was married, along with flying lessons.  I get that people are pulled to the thrill of the challenge.  What I don't get is why the dismal survival rate doesn't push them back.

ETA

If you want to know if an activity is dangerous, just look at how insurance companies view them.

I've never tried to underwrite anyone who disclosed skydiving as an activity, but it's definitely something that they inquire about.

[whYME]

For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the quote:

http://chabadlibrary.org/books/admur/hymym/13/6.htm
http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/5966/jewish/Hayom-Yom-Cheshvan-6.htm

Thanks, I was counting on you for this

[ExGingi]

Thanks, I was counting on you for this

I was actually hopeful that I would finally have someone help me with the task.

It’s thanks to @dan that I don’t only post the לשון הרב but try to add a link to the English translation.

[TimT]

For some people this is worth dying for.

I think it’s more

The idiot just has to try to defy death.

Would he do it if it’s guaranteed death ?

[Dan]

Another shining moment for socialized medicine
https://nypost.com/2018/01/29/romantic-walk-on-the-beach-leaves-couple-with-grossly-deformed-feet/amp/

[yuneeq]

I cannot understand what drives these people. To what end do they put their lives on the line? For the fame and thrill of breaking a record?  This is but a sophisticated version of a selfie death.

As a rebbe of mine put it, some people need to taste death in order to feel alive.

If you want to know if an activity is dangerous, just look at how insurance companies view them.

I've never tried to underwrite anyone who disclosed skydiving as an activity, but it's definitely something that they inquire about.

I don't how insurance works, but I'd guess skydiving is a siman of high risk more than the sibah.

[Boruch999]

If you want to know if an activity is dangerous, just look at how insurance companies view them.

I've never tried to underwrite anyone who disclosed skydiving as an activity, but it's definitely something that they inquire about.

https://www.seeker.com/how-common-are-skydiving-accidents-1765419215.html

Compare that against the statistics of skydiving accidents. According to the United States Parachuting Association, there are an estimated 3 million jumps per year, and the fatality count is only 21 (for 2010). That's a 0.0007% chance of dying from a skydive, compared to a 0.0167% chance of dying in a car accident (based on driving 10,000 miles). In layman's terms, you are about 24 times more likely to die in a car accident than in a skydiving one.

Compare to

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/sports/polish-climbers-to-scale-deadly-k2-peak-in-winter.html

Only the most experienced climbers attempt ascents, and for every four who crawl to its peak, one dies.

[henche]

https://www.seeker.com/how-common-are-skydiving-accidents-1765419215.html

Compare to

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/sports/polish-climbers-to-scale-deadly-k2-peak-in-winter.html

You're comparing diving one time. To driving 10k miles.

By that standard, driving is more dangerous than drunk driving.

[Boruch999]

You're comparing diving one time. To driving 10k miles.

By that standard, driving is more dangerous than drunk driving.

I am comparing diving one time (1 in 142,857 chance of death) to climbing K2 one time (1 in 4 chance of death.)

[henche]

I am comparing diving one time (1 in 142,857 chance of death) to climbing K2 one time (1 in 4 chance of death.)

Sorry, I must have gotten lost in the back and forth

[Boruch999]

Sorry, I must have gotten lost in the back and forth

That's ok.  I see what caused the confusion.  The quote I got the diving statistic from included a comparison to driving which suffers from the flaw you pointed out.

[henche]

Do a quarter of K2 climbers die there?  That's nuts.

K2 climbing DO anyone?

[Boruch999]

Do a quarter of K2 climbers die there?  That's nuts.

K2 climbing DO anyone?

According to the NYT.

DO = dying out?

[skyguy918]

https://www.sciencealert.com/ai-may-have-finally-decoded-the-bizarre-mysterious-voynich-manuscript

TL;DR is that they used AI to try to decipher a 600-year old manuscript that gained notoriety through a Polish book dealer 100 years ago. They didn't know what the underlying language was, or what the encoding was. AI seems to indicate that it was Hebrew and the cipher might be like an alphagram.

[gingyguy]

Do a quarter of K2 climbers die there?  That's nuts.

K2 climbing DO anyone?

who are you trying to weed out? 

[Definitions]

https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2018-01-30/amazon-berkshire-jpmorgan-to-set-up-a-health-company-for-staff