by Giles on Fri Dec 23, 2022 7:30 am
This reminds me a little of film footage from the 2004 tsunami: on some beaches people (of various nationalities) remained standing on after the water receded, and then as the first of the surges appeared on the horizon and drew closer and closer. In some cases, they waited until it was too late. Without previous direct experience, or the necessary training and/or understanding of physical forces, there seems to be a kind of failure of the imagination in cases like this. 'Something that is very far away can't really harm me' - even if it's moving towards me with such huge mass and significant speed that gravity and inertia will ensure it keeps coming. Moreover, the further away something is from the observer, the slower it seems to be: we can experience this ourselves with initially distant planes and cars as they move towards us. I guess that if a similar avalanche or rockfall or fire had broken out very close to the English guy, he would have 'panicked' much more and immediately jumped or run.
-- Very lucky for him there was a rocky outcrop so close by that he could take cover behind.
Do not make the mistake of giving up the near in order to seek the far.