[pct-l] re: on risk

[siltyclay@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (scott thompson)]

>  CMountainDave@aol.com said:
>
>If I were starting a company, I would take prospective single employees out
>on a rock climb and simply observe.


<snip employee filtering algorithm>


This reminds me of a story I read about intelligence/spy training
during WWII (I read this in a book and it was presented as true). A
pre-selected group of potential intelligence folks are shuttled to
the English countryside for training, profiling, culling, etc. One of
the exercises that helped sort personality types - and to help
trainee placement into the position suitable to his/her skills and
abilities - involved being blindfolded and then led by an instructor
into a barn. When the instructor said to walk straight ahead or turn
right, the student was to do so. At one point, the still-blindfolded
student was instructed to climb a ladder. At the top was a platform
or hay loft of some kind. They were then instructed to take a certain
number of steps and then came the instruction:"Jump." Of course the
students did not know if jumping would result in a long, dark, scary
fall, or in nothing at all. Those that did jump were considered
potentially good field operatives. Those that refused weren't graded
so highly :). Those that hesitated and tried to figure out if they'd
be falling into uncertainty (they were) and then tried to find an
alternative solution were graded most highly and were ID'd as
potential leaders.


ObPCT: No matter how diligently you plan, something unexpected and
potentially dangerous *will* occur (injury, illness, hunger, thirst)
and you'll have to deal with it. Take water, for instance :).
Counting on caches set by others is setting yourself up for a heaping
helping of disappointment and thirst. I was always pleasantly
surprised and grateful come to a water cache, but am damn glad I
didn't listen to the tales of endless water made available by trail
angels.



scott t.