Breaking down risk: Steve Fisher at TEDxAthens
-
0:10 - 0:14Okay. I'd like to present
a hypothetical idea. -
0:14 - 0:17A way to practice taking risks,
because after all, -
0:17 - 0:20practice makes perfect. Right?
-
0:20 - 0:23So I want you to picture a stadium.
The biggest stadium you've ever seen. -
0:23 - 0:26and it's got a huge arch
over the top of it, -
0:26 - 0:27a hundred meters high.
-
0:27 - 0:32Now, most people think that that arch
is simply there for supporting the structure. -
0:32 - 0:37But others believe that arch is also there
so that we can tie a rope to the top of it, -
0:37 - 0:39we can stretch that rope
all the way to the rim of the stadium -
0:39 - 0:43and do a huge rope swing
all the way across. -
0:43 - 0:46And better still, we can do that
in a kayak. -
0:47 - 0:50But wait! What if the rope breaks?
You could die! -
0:51 - 0:55Okay, maybe you didn't ask that question.
But I'm pretty sure that you did ask, -
0:55 - 1:00"What's a professional kayaker,
and what's he doing on our stage?" -
1:01 - 1:04I haven't done much to change the world,
but I have made a career -
1:04 - 1:07out of exploring remote rivers.
And the rivers taught me -
1:08 - 1:10just about everything I need to know.
-
1:10 - 1:14Growing up in South Africa
was a good life, but a simple life. -
1:15 - 1:20No TV, no video games,
but I did have a kayak and a river. -
1:21 - 1:26I had the disadvantage of having
very few kayak mentors -
1:26 - 1:30to teach me what could be done in a kayak,
but I had the distinct advantage -
1:30 - 1:33of having nobody to tell me
what could not be done. -
1:34 - 1:38I remember as a young teenager,
hearing about a French rafting expedition -
1:38 - 1:42that had attempted to take on and navigate
the world's biggest rapids, -
1:42 - 1:45on the Congo River.
-
1:45 - 1:51I saw this old photocopy
of the Paris Match magazine, -
1:51 - 1:55and this was the last photo ever taken of them.
-
1:55 - 1:57Right about the same time,
-
1:57 - 2:00I saw an old newspaper
with this photo of Marco Begni -
2:00 - 2:03kayaking off a waterfall near my house.
-
2:03 - 2:06If you look at the top left of the frame,
you'll see a kayak there. -
2:08 - 2:11I clearly remember walking into the kitchen
and saying to my parents, -
2:11 - 2:13"I'm going to kayak down
that waterfall one day." -
2:14 - 2:17And my dad said, "Well, son,
if you work hard and practice, -
2:17 - 2:19maybe one day you'll be good enough."
-
2:19 - 2:24About ten years later I found myself
kayaking off that very waterfall. -
2:24 - 2:28And about 15 years later I found myself
standing next to the Congo River -
2:29 - 2:32on the very same spot where
that last photograph was taken. -
2:33 - 2:37Now I think the best way for me
to introduce you to my Congo expedition -
2:37 - 2:41is to play the trailer to the film that
I made about it. Have a look. -
2:45 - 2:51Some call it a calling.
I think of it as an obsession. -
2:53 - 2:54Inga.
-
2:56 - 2:58World's biggest rapid.
-
3:00 - 3:03Almost every attempt to survive it
causes death. -
3:07 - 3:13I've been kayaking my whole life.
But when is enough enough? -
3:17 - 3:21I first heard the story, and seven people
died having their attempt. -
3:22 - 3:25Now I've waited half my life for my turn.
-
3:26 - 3:29All I have to do now is call a team of the best,
-
3:32 - 3:33put my friends' lives on the line...
-
3:38 - 3:42I've definitely been struggling with it.
I've woken up quite a few mornings -
3:42 - 3:45and just almost felt like calling the boys
and saying, -
3:45 - 3:48I just don't know
if I'm in for this one. -
3:49 - 3:53This is the obsession: to release yourself
by accomplishing the goal. -
3:54 - 3:57Or by being stopped by something outside of your control.
-
3:57 - 4:00But once you start this journey,
even if you don't want to go, -
4:01 - 4:03you have to.
-
4:03 - 4:17(Energetic music)
-
4:17 - 4:20You can run all the big water you want,
but how do you prepare for something -
4:20 - 4:22that's never been done before?
-
4:22 - 4:26In a place where help is not on its way.
-
4:29 - 4:30Congo.
-
4:32 - 4:35A place where experience is just a word.
-
4:54 - 4:58The lesson that we learned today
is not to fuck with these rapids. -
4:58 - 5:02Fisher messed up because he got off
to the side where whirlpools form, -
5:02 - 5:04where all of this stuff goes down out here.
-
5:05 - 5:08I may have had the closest call of my life,
but I didn't come here to die. -
5:09 - 5:11I came here to win.
-
5:17 - 5:21(Helicopter noise)
-
5:22 - 5:56(Music slowly builds)
-
5:57 - 6:00-Steady bro!
- Fuck, they're not gonna make it dude! -
6:03 - 6:06(CONGO: The Grand Inga Project)
-
6:06 - 6:09All right, so. Spoiler alert: we survived.
-
6:09 - 6:11(Laughter)
-
6:11 - 6:17(Applause)
-
6:17 - 6:20So what you just saw
in the introduction there, is -
6:20 - 6:25even us extreme sports guys feel trepidation
as we approach a new challenge. -
6:26 - 6:30And in this case, it was fearing
that if we took the next step, -
6:30 - 6:34the voyage itself would take on a life
of its own, and drag us along with it. -
6:35 - 6:39It would be like faring out into a huge river
with a strong current, -
6:39 - 6:42and you can't stop.
It's a commitment. -
6:43 - 6:47So how, then, do we prepare for something
that's never been done before? -
6:48 - 6:51In my profession I have a small box
-
6:51 - 6:54that I start with
that has five tools in it. -
6:54 - 6:56My equipment: I make sure
I have the right gear. -
6:57 - 7:01My physical well-being: I make sure that
I've prepared physically for the task. -
7:03 - 7:07The location: I make sure that I'm
in the perfect place to do what I do. -
7:07 - 7:11And once I've checked those three off,
I use those to develop the other two, -
7:11 - 7:14which are the skills and the experience.
-
7:15 - 7:19But you can't use any of these tools
until you demistify risk. -
7:20 - 7:22We can mitigate risks purely
by understanding them, -
7:22 - 7:25and the way that we understand them
-
7:25 - 7:28is that we take a seemingly impossible idea
and we break it down -
7:28 - 7:32into little digestible parts,
and we look at each step individually -
7:32 - 7:34and see if that is attainable.
-
7:35 - 7:39What happens then is what we're doing,
is that we find that many of our fears -
7:39 - 7:41are unjustified,
-
7:41 - 7:43and very often we find
that what's before us -
7:43 - 7:46is far less risky than we thought.
-
7:48 - 7:55So... give me a second.
Might need some applause here. -
7:55 - 8:01(Applause)
-
8:02 - 8:07So you know, as humans,
we are not inherently risk averse. -
8:08 - 8:13We evolved by taking risks, so it's okay
if there are risks in what we do. -
8:13 - 8:16We simply need to understand those risks,
and once we understand them, -
8:16 - 8:20we're ready to take the first step.
So let me show you what I mean. -
8:20 - 8:25Let me show you how I put that to use
every time I look at a rapid or a waterfall. -
8:26 - 8:30As I paddle up to the top of a waterfall,
the first thing I do is climb out of my kayak -
8:30 - 8:34and I walk down the side of the river
and I look at the pool below. -
8:34 - 8:36That's my goal, that's where I want to be.
-
8:36 - 8:40And it's only then that I turn back
at the rapid, and Oh my gosh! -
8:40 - 8:43If I look at the whole rapid
it's far too daunting. -
8:43 - 8:47So what I need to do is break it down
into smaller chunks, into individual moves -
8:47 - 8:50and see that I can do
each move individually, -
8:50 - 8:54and only then do I figure out
how to link those moves together. -
8:54 - 8:58So let's zoom in on this photograph.
If I would have shown this top part of the rapids -
8:58 - 9:00to even an intermediate kayaker,
they would say, -
9:00 - 9:04"Okay. Well that looks fairly chunky,
but it's good to go." -
9:04 - 9:07And if I showed them the next part,
they would say, -
9:07 - 9:10"Oh, that's a pretty straightforward job.
Yeah, let's go do it." -
9:10 - 9:12And if I show them the last part,
they would say, -
9:12 - 9:14"Okay, it's pretty spectacular but it's a straight shot.
-
9:15 - 9:17You don't really need to do anything.
It's good to go." -
9:18 - 9:20You'll have to take my word for that.
-
9:21 - 9:25But the job is not done there.
Once we cut a problem horizontally, -
9:25 - 9:28the next thing we need to do
is cut it vertically. -
9:28 - 9:30What we're trying to do
is establish the path -
9:30 - 9:33or line that we're likely to be on.
-
9:34 - 9:36And the reason that we're doing that
is to eliminate the parts -
9:36 - 9:38of the rapid that don't affect us.
-
9:38 - 9:41The parts of the rapid where we will not be.
-
9:41 - 9:45Because if we do that, then we can look and see
if there are any deadly features. -
9:45 - 9:50If those deadly features are in the eliminated part
we never have to think about them again. -
9:51 - 9:54And if those deadly features are in our path,
and they're unavoidable, -
9:55 - 9:58well then we don't go. It's far too risky.
-
9:58 - 10:00That's how extreme sport works.
Sorry to disappoint you guys. -
10:00 - 10:03(Laughter)
-
10:03 - 10:05So imagine you're walking along
a trail like this. -
10:05 - 10:07You're walking along
and you've got a cliff on your left side. -
10:07 - 10:10You're thinking about
what you're doing while you walk. -
10:10 - 10:12You're not thinking about
the cliff the entire time. -
10:12 - 10:14It's only if you turn towards the cliff
and start approaching it -
10:14 - 10:17that it becomes a real danger.
-
10:17 - 10:19And then you stop.
-
10:20 - 10:24Okay, so how do you know
if you're on the right path, -
10:24 - 10:26and what happens
if you're on the wrong path? -
10:26 - 10:28Well, in kayaking there's no turning back.
-
10:28 - 10:33So what that teaches us
is not to panic when things go wrong. -
10:34 - 10:38When the unexpected occurs
we have no choice but to solve the problem -
10:38 - 10:39and keep on moving.
-
10:39 - 10:43But fortunately, as in life,
if we zoom back just a little bit, -
10:43 - 10:46perhaps to where we haven't yet
-
10:46 - 10:48climbed in the kayak
and made the commitment, -
10:48 - 10:50we get to see that very often
-
10:50 - 10:52we can start down a path,
realize we're on the wrong path, -
10:52 - 10:53turn back and reset the plan.
-
10:54 - 10:56Let me show you what I mean.
-
10:56 - 10:58(Laughter)
-
11:00 - 11:03Have you ever heard the cliche,
"never give up?" -
11:03 - 11:08Well tonight we're canceling it.
We don't say that anymore. -
11:08 - 11:11From now on we say,
"Don't give up too easily." -
11:12 - 11:16On this particular trip,
our plan was to use a rope to rappel down -
11:16 - 11:18into the base of Victoria Falls
-
11:18 - 11:21and kayak through the rapids
at the very base of the falls. -
11:22 - 11:25Once we got down there,
we found the unexpected. -
11:25 - 11:28The wind and the spray
from the falls themselves -
11:28 - 11:30were so strong
that it was impossible to kayak, -
11:30 - 11:33so we had to fall back
on to our contingency plan -
11:33 - 11:35and climb a hundred meters back up the rope
-
11:35 - 11:37and cancel the whole idea.
-
11:38 - 11:42But guess what? The TV show we were
making about it, turned out great, -
11:42 - 11:47and we got this photograph. We gave up but
we didn't have to feel ashamed of it. -
11:48 - 11:54if you refuse to give up on an idea,
then you inhibit your ability to experiment. -
11:55 - 11:59But if you're willing to give up
after a good effort, then when you do give up -
11:59 - 12:01there's no reason to feel guilty.
-
12:02 - 12:05Okay, so I think that now
you're starting to get to know me a little bit, -
12:05 - 12:07so I think that we're ready
-
12:07 - 12:10to talk about the stadium idea again.
How do you guys feel now? -
12:11 - 12:15But wait! What if the rope breaks?
You could die! -
12:16 - 12:19The rope is not going to break,
and here's why. -
12:19 - 12:22Right from the start,
we're going to use a rope -
12:22 - 12:26that is thousands of pounds stronger
than it needs to be. -
12:27 - 12:30So we've used the right equipment
to eliminate the problem -
12:30 - 12:32and we never have to think about it again.
-
12:33 - 12:37We've eliminated the "what if" factor.
It's called "pointing positive". -
12:38 - 12:41We can now focus on the how,
and in this particular case, -
12:41 - 12:44the more important question is,
-
12:44 - 12:48"How long does that rope need to be
to make sure that we don't hit the ground -
12:48 - 12:49on the way down?"
-
12:49 - 12:52And once we're finished,
how are we gonna get -
12:52 - 12:56from the end of the rope
back to the ground? -
12:56 - 12:59Now, with a few simple
mathematical calculations, -
12:59 - 13:02these are pretty easy problems to solve.
-
13:02 - 13:04So we're ready to go.
Are you guys ready? -
13:04 - 13:05Audience: Yes
-
13:05 - 13:07All right, let's do it.
-
13:07 - 13:30(electronic music)
-
13:30 - 13:38(Wind noise)
-
13:53 - 13:59All right. (Applause)
-
14:01 - 14:03I can see you want to do that, don't you?
-
14:05 - 14:08All right. So when we imagined
this idea, first of all, -
14:09 - 14:15the idea sounds crazy. But once
we break it down and demystify the risk, -
14:15 - 14:19then we suddenly find that it's so safe
that this very swing has now become -
14:19 - 14:23a fully fledged commercial operation.
-
14:23 - 14:28Yes. You too can go to Durban, South Africa.
You can pay your money, -
14:28 - 14:31and you can go and do a giant rope
swing across a stadium. -
14:32 - 14:35You can take a leap of faith.
And hundreds of people do. -
14:35 - 14:39And guess what the most common thing
that they say is afterwards? -
14:40 - 14:44"Man! It just really wasn't as bad
as I thought it was going to be, -
14:44 - 14:48and I feel as if "If I can do that,
-
14:48 - 14:52I can do anything!"
And guess what? They're absolutely right. -
14:53 - 14:59So right now, we all live always
at the edge of uncharted waters. -
14:59 - 15:03And no matter that they're something
meaningless like kayaking down a rapid, -
15:03 - 15:08or meaningful like changing the world,
the principle is always the same: -
15:09 - 15:13We need to buck up
and add our piece to the puzzle. -
15:14 - 15:16It reminds me of a quote that I heard once.
-
15:16 - 15:19I was in the deepest gorge in the world,
in Tibet. -
15:19 - 15:22One of the boys ad-libbed
a quote out of a book -
15:22 - 15:25called "The Wanderer" by Sterling Hayden.
-
15:25 - 15:26And I'll give you just one line.
-
15:28 - 15:31"Ive always wanted to sail
the seven seas, but I can't afford it. -
15:33 - 15:36What these people can't afford is not to go".
-
15:37 - 15:39End quote.
-
15:39 - 15:40Thank you very much, Athens!
-
15:40 - 15:44It's been a pleasure and a privilege.
Good night! -
15:44 - 15:48(Applause)
- Title:
- Breaking down risk: Steve Fisher at TEDxAthens
- Description:
-
How do you prepare for something that has never been done by anyone before? Steve Fisher responded to this on the stage of TEDxAthens.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 15:59
Dimitra Papageorgiou edited English subtitles for Breaking down risk: Steve Fisher at TEDxAthens | ||
Dimitra Papageorgiou edited English subtitles for Breaking down risk: Steve Fisher at TEDxAthens | ||
Dimitra Papageorgiou edited English subtitles for Breaking down risk: Steve Fisher at TEDxAthens | ||
Dimitra Papageorgiou edited English subtitles for Breaking down risk: Steve Fisher at TEDxAthens | ||
Dimitra Papageorgiou edited English subtitles for Breaking down risk: Steve Fisher at TEDxAthens | ||
Dimitra Papageorgiou edited English subtitles for Breaking down risk: Steve Fisher at TEDxAthens | ||
Dimitra Papageorgiou edited English subtitles for Breaking down risk: Steve Fisher at TEDxAthens | ||
Dimitra Papageorgiou edited English subtitles for Breaking down risk: Steve Fisher at TEDxAthens |
SungJoo Kim
There were only a few mistakes like spelling. Other than that, the translations were nearly perfect.