Academic Rigor
By Mitch Berg
Parachutes might not actually save lives.
Serious. The FDA has never run a double-blind study, there’s no academic literature on the subject, and therefore…
The perception that parachutes are a successful intervention is based largely on anecdotal evidence. Observational data have shown that their use is associated with morbidity and mortality, due to both failure of the intervention1 2 and iatrogenic complications*.3 In addition, “natural history” studies of free fall indicate that failure to take or deploy a parachute does not inevitably result in an adverse outcome.4 We therefore undertook a systematic review of randomised controlled trials of parachutes.
March 10th, 2011 at 10:28 am
All I can say about this post is this; I am one of those people that used to jump out of “perfectly good airplanes” for fun. Obviously, I’m still here to talk about it. I learned to do so over a rural airport with a grass airstrip in Hillsboro, ND.
Since most recreational skydivers pack their own chutes, a parachute that actually fails to open, was most likely packed improperly. Further, most skydivers, unless they are real dumb, jump with a backup chute strapped to their belly.
March 10th, 2011 at 10:33 am
I was expecting a response from RickDFL, who knows that anyone who “does science” does it peer reviewed literature.
March 10th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Years of anthropological observation of Wile E. Coyote (Eatius birdius) in its natural habitat clearly demonstrates that falls from a great height – even multiple times within a 30-minute period – are clearly not fatal and, in fact, appear to have little lasting consequences. These observations also raise troubling questions of the role of corporate interests, specifically the Acme Company, in manipulating expectations and driving false demand, which by extrapolation includes the Parachuting-Industrial complex.
If my grant is funded, I will look at the influence of these corporate interests on the well-being of native fauna and the role of global-warming in creting more up-drafts.
March 10th, 2011 at 11:57 am
Seems to me there is anecdotal evidence that the WI Dim Senators attempted to parachute out of their constitutional obligations. Given that the evidence suggests the chute didn’t open they should have had a back-up as boss has pointed out. Or maybe the back-up they counted on didn’t open either.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Scott – the old axiom is that both parachutes and minds have to be open in order to work.