Aristotle And Danger

Grim commented under my Risk Profile post of yesterday, then wrote a post of his own at greater length on the topic. He makes reference to Aristotle's teaching that virtue comes by habituation, and keeping one's head in dangerous situations - grace under pressure, to use Hemingway's phrase - can be useful in later crises.

Thinking about that, I think it is only partly true.  It is not the mere experience of danger and risk that teaches, even to those who are alert and seeking to draw lessons.  An example: early in my career at the hospital it was common to be working an understaffed unit. Just before I arrived, they had finally made it policy that no one was to work a unit alone. Not all psychiatric patients are dangerous, but enough of them are that they required physical intervention to restrain them. They can be assaultive, out-of-control, or so intensely self harming that they attempt to run into wall, cut themselves with whatever is handy. When you are alone in facing this and you know that you can get hurt badly, but your job is to keep everyone safe, it is frightening. Yes, you are still alone, because someone has to get to the phone, or is on break. Especially tough on night shift when there aren't even that many people in the building to help out. You were left with the intervention far more often if you were male, also. The adrenaline rises, clouding your judgement, and memories of past injuries, especially from this same patient, rise as well. 

This was part of my job for seven years, and then an occasional part for ten years after that. I experienced that fear many times and worked to contain it.  Yet even though I was paying attention and trying to draw lessons from the experience, or trying to emulate those who seemed to be doing better, I don't think I improved much.  Not until about year five, when a new type of training come in, did I feel I was making progress. It was not mere habituation, but specific training that mattered.  I imagine Aristotle might partly agree if I explained it to him. 

I don't think it is a mere technicality, that okay sure, of course being trained is an important part. It is obvious once you read it, but I think risk-takers are often the sort who believe they are learning when they aren't. That is my hospital experience, anyway - and I am including myself in that negative assessment.  In an emergency, you will not rise to the occasion.  You will revert to the level of your training.  If anything, people get worse because they get away with taking bad risks most of the time and develop an overconfidence.


I don't have a specific tie-in to our current situation and the risks people are taking, but I think it applies.  People think they are safe because they didn't die last time they did it, and many repetitions makes them calm, confident, and wrong.