Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Pushing The Limits Of Human Mental Endurance

Have you been following the Chilean mine collapse story?

The miners have been trapped for a total of 20 days with minimal food. A probe sent by rescuers found the men alive on Sunday, but it could be three to four months before a hole can be drilled that will reach the men, 2,300 feet below the earth's surface...

One thing that officials have not explicitly told the miners is how long they may be trapped before a rescue.

My gut reaction is not to tell them. It would be too easy to give up hope thinking that they might spend Christmas still trapped in that mine.

4 comments:

  1. I cannot imagine how they will survive. Underground gas is just part of the issue. Sanitation is a huge accelerator of disease. That's why cholera, typhoid and other nasty germs show up after floods or earthquakes. And if some should die, there's further concern. I hope there's a miracle and that their estimates are on the side of caution. I think I would simply go mad.

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  2. Don't you think they would finally figure out that they have been down there a mighty long time? Especially if any of the 33 are wearing a watch with a date function.

    As soon as they are fully settled, I would be upfront with them with the best and worst case scenarios. I know I would want to know.

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  3. I thought about that and concluded that I'd hope that the conditions of mining would preclude the wearing of a wristwatch :-)

    Of course honesty is probably the best policy, but in this case, how good is it? Is it definitely better?

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  4. According to CNN.com today, they've now been told.

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