Laurence Gonzales, a pilot and journalist known for his book Deep Survival, dives deep into the psychology of survival. He explores why some people thrive in disasters while others falter, revealing insights from his father's WWII survival story. Gonzales discusses the dangers of emotional decision-making and outdated mental models during crises. Surprisingly, he argues that rule breakers often have a higher chance of survival. The conversation wraps up with the paradox of balancing hope and realism in life-threatening situations.
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Father's Survival
Laurence Gonzales's father was a B-17 pilot in WWII and survived a 27,000-foot fall after his plane was shot down.
This sparked Gonzales's lifelong interest in survival, leading him to write "Deep Survival."
insights INSIGHT
Emotions Override Logic
Emotions dominate decision-making in survival situations, often overriding logic.
Being startled, even in a safe environment, demonstrates how emotions can instantly eclipse reason.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Emotional Bookmarks
A snowmobiler, despite knowing the avalanche risk, high-marked and triggered an avalanche, leading to a fatality.
This illustrates how ingrained emotional bookmarks and automatic behaviors can override warnings.
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Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why is a 2003 book by Laurence Gonzales that examines how people survive life-threatening events. The book is divided into two main sections: the first explores how accidents occur, often due to bad habits and the brain's tendency to rely on past experiences rather than current conditions. The second section focuses on survival strategies, emphasizing the importance of clear and decisive action in chaotic situations. Gonzales uses real-life stories, including his father's experiences as a World War II pilot, to illustrate key survival principles such as adaptability, mental resilience, and the ability to manage fear and pain. He also discusses the physiological and psychological effects of stress and how these impact decision-making in critical situations[2][3][6].
In disasters or accidents, why do some people survive and others perish? In exploring this question, my guest has uncovered psychological and philosophical insights into not only dealing with life-threatening crises, but strategically navigating any situation that involves risk and decision-making.
His name is Laurence Gonzales and he's a pilot, a journalist, and the author of several books, including the focus of today's conversation: Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why. Today on the show, we discuss how the story of his father being shot out of the sky during WWII set Laurence on a journey to explore the mysterious underpinnings of survival. Laurence then explains what happens to us mentally and emotionally in a disaster situation that causes us to make poor decisions, how our mental models can get us in trouble, and why rule breakers are more likely to survive than rule followers. Laurence then walks us through complexity theory and how trying to make things safer can counterintuitively make them more dangerous. We then talk about why the frequency with which you yell at your kids correlates to your chances of surviving a life-threatening emergency, before ending our conversation with a discussion of the paradoxes would-be survivors must grapple with, including being both realistic and hopeful at the same time.
The Art of Manliness 