Douglas Young

Why do rational people do irrational things? It’s a great question that’s been asked and asked and asked over and over and over.

A while back, while waiting for a vehicle to be serviced, I read an article in National Geographic Adventure that essentially posed this question. The author, Laurence Gonzales, told a story about Lynn Hill, the renowned rock-climber and “winner of more than 30 international rock-climbing titles”, who nearly died due to an unfortunate mishap. The climb itself wasn’t the concern, but rather it was her preparation for the climb. While running a rope through her harness, she got distracted and began tying her shoes instead of finishing tying the knot into her harness. Hill sensed that something didn’t seem right, but dismissed it and commenced with the climb. The distraction was near fatal. With relative ease Hill climbed the face, but “when she leaned back to rappel to the ground, she fell 72 feet (22 meters), her life narrowly saved by tree branches.” She never finished tying the knot to her harness.

Gonzales offers an interesting insight into mishap,

In her case, more training would not have helped. In fact, experience contributed to her accident. She had created a very efficient model for tying her rope to her harness. She could do it without thinking. So the act of tying her shoes may have been similar enough to tying her rope that it allowed her to reach the unconscious conclusion that her rope was tied, even while leaving a slight residue of doubt.

It’s fairly easy to take things for granted, especially when those things are neatly placed within the confines of one’s basic routine. But taking things for granted can get us hurt, or as in the case of Lynn Hill, nearly killed. The issue wasn’t knowledge, but instead it was poor execution. She’d become slightly desensitized in her routine and it almost killed her.

Letting the guard down has its distinct advantages and disadvantages. Things becoming “automatic” can be good, but when we become “automatons” danger lurks. Maybe this is why Peter contends, “Discipline yourselves, keep alert” (1 Peter 5:8)? We are being stalked by an adversary who wants to take us down (v. 9), and distraction or desensitization can be spiritual fatal.