Why do some people risk their lives for fun?
Pourquoi certaines personnes risquent-elles leur vie pour le plaisir?
Pourquoi aimons-nous tant prendre des risques ?
Prendre des risques peut mettre du piment dans nos vies ; mais certains d'entre nous poussent cette pratique bien plus loin en adoptant des hobbies très dangereux, comme l'escalade à mains nues ou le base jumping. Quelle motivation les amène à mettre leurs vies en danger par jeu ? Voici une analyse de ce qu'est réellement notre goût du risque.
Laurent Frat is standing on top of a ridge line in the French alps, preparing to leap down to the valley below. If something goes wrong, he will die. “If I can’t find the landing area it will find me,” he jokes. He claims not to be nervous, although he admits that he tries not to think about his family before he jumps. After checking that the photographer is ready, he is off, arms outstretched, head forward, leaping into the void.
2. As the air rushes into his nylon suit, it gives him a bit of lift, allowing him to feel as if he is flying (in reality, he is merely falling with style). He will descend 1,500 metres in around a minute before opening a parachute. While flying, he says, he feels “almost invincible”. For that minute of invincibility, Mr Frat has risked his life over a thousand times.
3. Mr Frat is a wingsuit base jumper. He jumps from cliffs, bridges and the like (base stands for building, antenna, span and earth) while wearing a “wingsuit”—a sort of nylon flying-squirrel get-up. The sport is among the most dangerous recreational activities known to man. Yet it is surprisingly popular.
4. This past year, thanks to covid-19, humans have faced a radical increase in risk. Onceunremarkable
activities, such as eating at a restaurant or visiting your grandchildren, are suddenly fraught with the fear of death. The response to the pandemic has proved quite how far humans are willing to go to avoid a chance of dying prematurely. So why would anyone jump off a cliff, and willingly expose themselves to it?
5. Social networks such as Instagram and TikTok have made it possible for anyone to broadcast his or her dangerous exploits. On YouTube it is easy to find footage of wingsuit base jumpers “proximity flying” close to rocks and climbers without ropes on sheer faces. Some clips show people taking even