I agree on both points, less so on the fame/fortune part tho. I do think a big part of the reason people find it so fun is because of the risk/effort to reward ratio.
Years ago there was an article in one of the bike mags that considered the psychology of mtb and other adventure/adrenaline sports and posited an interesting reason as to why people are drawn to these sorts of activities. The argument was that humans evolved with a high level of danger in their lives, and of course escaping danger is rewarding, so in a way we need some danger or risk in our lives to feel fulfilled. As our current modern society is fairly comfortable it doesn't provide that feedback loop, so we need to seek it out. It's an interesting proposition and I'm tempted to spend some time scouring search databases for more info. I think it would also make an absolutely awesome article.
March 24, 2024, 8:39 a.m. - Mark
I agree on both points, less so on the fame/fortune part tho. I do think a big part of the reason people find it so fun is because of the risk/effort to reward ratio. Years ago there was an article in one of the bike mags that considered the psychology of mtb and other adventure/adrenaline sports and posited an interesting reason as to why people are drawn to these sorts of activities. The argument was that humans evolved with a high level of danger in their lives, and of course escaping danger is rewarding, so in a way we need some danger or risk in our lives to feel fulfilled. As our current modern society is fairly comfortable it doesn't provide that feedback loop, so we need to seek it out. It's an interesting proposition and I'm tempted to spend some time scouring search databases for more info. I think it would also make an absolutely awesome article.