DOING WHAT COMES UNNATURALLY

DOING WHAT COMES UNNATURALLY

A cranky opinion for

CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY

The following is the opinion of a cranky old man with very little knowledge on the subject opined.  Opposing opinions are welcome.  They are welcome but will probably be ignored.  As always, please no name calling.  That means you, you big stupid head!

My father was a recreational pilot.  He flew a single engine plane.  He learned to fly in the thirties, only thirty years after the Wright Brothers.  He told me a story about early pilots.

When an airplane climbs higher and higher it eventually reaches a point where it loses speed and can climb no more.  It goes into what is called a stall.  If the plane does not use more power to gain speed, the stall turns into a tail first spin and the plane crashes. 

In the early days of aviation when a pilot went into a stall his natural instincts were to pull back on the stick to keep the nose pointed in the direction he wanted to go.  That did not work so well, and at the time going into a stall was considered irreversible and a crash was unavoidable. Many pilots were killed because they went into a stall. 

Finally one pilot (probably several pilots independently) decided that the way out of a stall was to push the nose down allowing the plane to gain speed and then pull the nose level and fly out of the stall.

Other pilots said he was crazy, that a stall was irreversible and a crash was unavoidable.  The daredevil pilot did not listen; he flew and intentionally put his plane in a stall, pushed the nose down, gained speed and was able to level the plane out.  Soon all pilots learned that the way out of a stall is to do exactly the opposite of what your instinct told you to do.

How many other things in life are there where doing the opposite of what your instinct tells you do is the correct thing to do?

The earth is flat.  Early scientist’s instincts were wrong.  Bleed the bad blood out of the sick.  Early doctor’s instincts were wrong.

If threatened by a dog or wild animal, running away is what your instincts tell you to do.  Your instincts are sometimes wrong.

Caught swimming in an undertow your instincts tell you to swim directly to shore.  Your instincts are wrong.

In golf, the more you aim to adjust for a slice; the greater you ball will slice.  Your instinct is wrong.

The slower the pitch in baseball, the easier it is to hit.  Sometimes, but often your instinct is wrong.

When your wheels spin on ice your instinct is to step on the gas.  Your instinct is wrong.

Are you overweight and want to lose fat?  Your instinct is to eat a fat free diet; current research by prominent scientists, suggest that your instincts are probably wrong.

Doing what comes unnaturally is why skepticism is sometimes not a bad thing.  We need people to doubt, we need people to question.

Usually the skeptic is proven wrong.  Sometimes he is not.

Burn stuff and the Earth gets warmer…Seems to make sense.

More police, stricter enforcement has to lower crime rates…Couldn’t hurt.

Raise the minimum wage and raise middle class standard of living…Of course.

Eliminate poverty by handing out food and money…Worth a try.

When the rich get richer, the money will trickle down to everyone…It could happen.

Raise taxes to increase revenue…Makes sense.

Cut waste in government to balance the budget…Has to work…right?

Genetically altered food can increase productivity and help feed the world...How could that be bad?

Alcohol is bad; make it illegal…Problem solved.

The value of some ideas change with a moving target of economic and social conditions.  We need to be open to adjusting "status quo" positions.

Often what seems obvious, what instinct tells you to do, is exactly what you should not do.  In generally the old saw to “trust your instincts” is a good one, but if following your instincts, following the obvious, does not seem to be working, perhaps it is time to consider putting the nose down to get out of a stall.

The preceding was the opinion of a cranky old man and not necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky.