'Ostrom's Rules' for taking risks
This week G. George Ostrom picked out a column from August, 1969.
A problem mentioned before by this writer is the difficulty in remembering what stories I’ve told in this column. After nine years and hundreds of columns, I find an increasing fear of reiterating myself.
The only sure way to avoid such a thing is to write about current subjects…or else lie a lot. I prefer the former course of action but can resort to the latter if it becomes absolutely necessary. Another factor is the hundred or so columns written or partially written and then not sent in.
Subject of conversation a few days ago was the increasing incidence of injuries and deaths due to falls in Glacier Park.
Serious injury and death are always tragic, but I subscribe to a school of thought wherein the taking of some risks lends deeper insight into the quality of life. There seems to be a thin line dividing damn fools from brave persons; however, for my own use I believe that particular thin line is quite bold and discernible.
It is simply a matter of doing your homework well before you take the risk, so that you are aware of what the dangers are.
This knowledge enables you to weight the personal risk (what you have to lose) against the potential gain. It’s similar to buying stocks, only the stakes involve humanistic experience instead of dollars.
The second factor to consider before you take a risk is, what is the potential affect on others.
A good example of this is a pilot that takes off under marginal flying conditions. He is basically risking his own life and his very own personal business, BUT, if he goes down he immediately jeopardized the lives of many more pilots who go out to look for him. If he has passengers in his plane, then the moral crime is compounded. He is obviously the “damn fool.”
I will personally take risks to help a person who gets into trouble honestly, but this guy? For him I hesitate.
On the defense side of risk taking, I sincerely feel sorry for those people who have never known the terrifying thrill of falling through space at 100-plus miles per hour with only a 28-foot hunk of silk between them and the unyielding earth 10,000 feet below, pr that deep in the stomach excitement of prowling the depths of the sea with your life in a tank on your back, or that scary but proud sensation of bringing a plane down all by yourself for the first time.
Are these things risky? Not really, if you’ve done your homework and nobody else’s life is involved. Those are the Ostrom rules and they’ve enriched my life. Now quit procrastinating and go buy a pair of skis.