zlacker

I suspect a lot of this is habituation due to repeated practise. As long as one climbs well within one's abilities, the actual level of danger is comparatively low. But the fear is still there and needs to be trained away.

>>kqr+(OP)
I don't think it required much training for Alex, I think he just has an under active amygdala or something

>>padjo+V8
That’s the impression I got: he doesn’t feel fear like the rest of us.

>>padjo+V8
is it possible to suppress amygdala? asking for a friend

>>e40+1w
That’s not true, he has debunked that. It’s due to repeated practice and his confidence in his skill set that he doesn’t feel fear under those conditions

>>padjo+V8
It’s literally the case. They gave him an fMRI:

https://nautil.us/the-strange-brain-of-the-worlds-greatest-s...

>>kqr+(OP)
They also did an MRI scan on Honnold and found that he doesn't have the usual fear response. It's not clear if this was trained away, or if it's something innate.

https://nautil.us/the-strange-brain-of-the-worlds-greatest-s...

>>kqr+(OP)
This. Watching Honnold makes your palms go clamy and makes you uncomfortable because you imagine how terified you'd be in that position. But for an athlete like Honnold, the experience is more similar to just a "hard hike". Strenuous, but just work. It's just normalized because he does it so damn much. He really seriously is not gonna fall off that building, just like you're not gonna get seriously injured on a class 3 hike.

(Source: I'm also a climber. Not remotely close to Alex's level. But frequent exposure significantly changes how your brain processes these situations)

>>throwa+Lz
Would that be safe? asking for an enemy.

>>parthd+wE
When I go out running a might feel a twinge in Achilles. Or a pain in my knee. Maybe I'm just tired.

When that happens I have to do a mental inventory and ask myself, "Am I better off finishing the run or should I just bag it and take tomorrow off?" Two things; firstly every run hurts a little bit - especially the first mile. I usually get into a groove and sometimes, very rarely, I really have gotten to that place where I'm feeling no pain and a run seems like less effort then a walk - mostly though the nice part of a run has an undeniable unpleasantness bound up with it. I like being able to go out for a run though so I put up with the bad. Second thing. I'm an unreliable source. For all the reasons I just talked about I don't trust my ability to take stock of my physical state. I do occasionally take off or skip for days at a stretch but it's like candy - I don't trust it because I like it so.

Here's the thing. If I get that balance wrong I end up walking in the middle of my run.

I imagine Honnold has to do that same self assessment. If he gets it wrong he plunges to his death. Which - to my mind - is totally crazy. Takes all kinds though.

>>ahussa+iQ
I recall reading about a certain species of birds where, to impress the females, the males dives to the ground. The closer to the ground before they pull out of the dive the more impressive.

The scientist found there was a gene encoding how daring a bird would be, mostly clustered in two groups IIRC. But there was a rare variant which made them much more fearless, causing them to go much lower than the others.

However they only found birds with one copy of that variation. Turned out if a bird inherited the variant from both parents, they never pulled out of the dive and smacked into the ground, killing the bird.

These crazy free solo climbs and similar reminds me of those birds.

>>parthd+wE
How do I square "he has debunked that" with the article about his brain fMRI and the results about his amygdala, linked above in this subthread? It's full of direct quotes from both Honnold and the doctors. Where did he debunk it... and how? He's got a more accurate analysis than the fMRI? Do you have a link?

>>electr+xp3
From the source himself: https://youtube.com/shorts/mEHssB6GEPw

>>electr+xp3
There is no contradiction