Week 3 The Unthinkable Who Survives when Disaster Strikes & Why Book Response

Amanda Ripley’s The Unthinkable:

You should have easily finished The Unthinkable by now. In this book, journalist Amanda Ripley explores how we react in a disaster and why. She also discusses how we can better prepare ourselves for survival when faced with the unexpected. Use the following questions as potential starting points for discussion. You don’t have to answer them sequentially or even answer all of them! Please share your honest perceptions and points of learning

–

1.
Reflect on this book and how it impacted you. What was surprising? What was confirming?

2.
Did anything you

read
influence you in the present or in terms of what you will do (or not do) in the future?

3.
What did you learn about how people react in a disaster event? Did anything surprise or fascinate you?

4.
If you could share one thing with a loved one or peer, what would it be?

5.
Feel free to share anything further that was impactful for you

–

Respond to at least 3 other classmates.

This the first post from my classmate IBRAHIM need for response:

Book Reflection: The Unthinkable

“The Unthinkable’ is an excellent book which describes disasters and how people react to them. Disasters are bound to happen in the life of humans. The problem with many disasters is that they happen suddenly and people are not presented with time to think about the most appropriate courses of action. In the book, Ripley says that the manner in which a person reacts to a disaster plays an important role in determining whether one survives or not. When I look at this book deeply, I feel like Ripley is making an attempt to establish the extent to which the human brain may work in an environment as distressing as a disaster to process information very fast and allow individuals to make the most appropriate decisions. From the book, I find it interesting that the human brain has the capacity and

ability
to work better than I had even thought about during disasters. The book says that it is as a result of the working of the brain that some people usually act strangely during disasters (Ripley, 2009). Most importantly, Ripley says that “we can teach our brains to work more quickly, maybe even more wisely, under great stress.” The meaning of this is that the brain will only act during disasters in a manner which is consistent with its training.

Reading this book has had a tremendous impact on my present, especially as I prepare for the future. One thing which the book has made clear to me is that in many cases, we underestimate the capability of our brains. I have learned that my brain will always give me what I give to it, and that makes it necessary to understand that I should always make attempts to train my brain according to my expectations (Ripley, 2009). Thus, I am responsible for the development of my brain. Since all of us are likely to experience a disaster at any point in our life, it is essential for me to train my brain at the moment as I prepare or any eventuality in the future.

After reading the book, I have understood that many people usually react in the wrong way when they are faced with disasters. Many people panic, and that is the beginning of missteps in reaction to disasters. The book states that in every disaster scenario, the brain needs to be trained on what needs to be done (Ripley, 2009). For example, when people are on a plane, they always get trained concerning the most appropriate ways to react to disasters. Similarly, people need to learn to understand the different ways through which they may act in different scenarios of disaster. Thus, when I see that many people are not reacting appropriately to disasters, I appreciate that it is as a result of their failure to train their brains.

One thing which I may love to share with other people, including my loved ones from the book is that the brain plays an important role in disaster response. When an individual is presented with a tough situation such as a disaster, it is always important not to panic but to let the brain think systemically. Ripley says that “we have more control over our fates than we think. But we need to stop underestimating ourselves” (Ripley, 2009).

References

Ripley, A. (2009). The unthinkable: Who survives when disaster strikes-and why. Harmony.

This the second post from my classmate FAHAD need for response

:

This book by Amanda Ripley has greatly impacted my life and personality positively. This is because I realized that my disaster personality is not as strong as I imagined it would be. Instead, I see a person who has lost hope, is experiencing panic, anxiety, and difficulty in breathing when encountered with a disaster. Before, I thought that with my personality it would be easy to escape disaster or even take a run for it. However, after reading the experiences people have had in tragedies such as the September 9/11, I decided to build on my response to a disaster to improve my chances when disaster strikes.

I must admit I was surprised that group think did have an impact on an individuals’ deliberation in the midst of a disaster. Also, I was surprised by the fact that almost no one goes through a disaster alone (Ripley, 2013). This because I always pictured how people respond

in
disasters and for me, I thought it was every man for himself. However, am amazed that the crowd you may find yourself in when disaster strikes can determine your chances of survival. The reason is that how the group functions are based on who is in the group affects survival chances for most.

What was

confirming
after reading this book is that no one survives a disaster unless they are pushed or they push themselves to calculate on risks (Ripley, 2013). Most of us think that people who survive when many others don’t is by luck. However, I confirm that luck is unreliable in such situations. Unless one takes less time during denial and

deliberation they
are more likely to become victims of a disaster. However, if they are quick at their decisive moments on what to do in the midst of a disaster then their chances of survival are higher. In addition, I confirm that resilience in times of disaster determines those who can escape and survive.

Everything that I have read in this book has influenced what I will do in the future if caught in the midst of a disaster. I will not waste time to do things such as shutting down the computer or packing things or even making multiple calls. Instead, I will take a few minutes to process my current situation, accept it sooner instead if denying circumstances that have already befallen me. In future, if I will be in a crowd, and disaster strikes, I will try to encourage everyone to calm down and make quick decisions on what to do next rather than wait for help from outsiders.

What I have learned about how people react in a disaster even is that for most, it takes time to come to terms with the reality of what is happening. This prolongs their denial phase since their brains cannot comprehend the sudden turn of events. Therefore, I was completely fascinated by Zedono story concerning her escape from the Trade Center (Ripley, 2013). This is because she admits to having wanted to stay during the disaster instead of running away. I have learned that the denial phase in the midst of a disaster is humbling since people procrastinate on leaving. I learned on the psychological tendency of normalcy bias, which makes us slow to recognize exceptions.

If I could share one thing with a loved one is to take less time in their denial phase when disaster strikes. This is because there are Trade Center survivors who admitted to waiting for 45 minutes before heading downstairs (Ripley, 2013). Although I do understand why most people procrastinate on leaving due to our brains processing the situation and trying to identify with patterns from the past. Also, during a disaster one needs time to think and search for better information when our brains fail. However, the delay and the procrastination

on
leaving may cost the chance to survive and escape

on
time.

Reference

Ripley, A. (2013). The Unthinkable: Who survives when disaster strikes and why. Harmony.

This the third post from my classmate AHMED need for response

:

Disasters may happen at any time. Life goes by pleasantly, and tragedy suddenly unfetters, wrecking lives and places. Many examples of such situations filled the first pages of papers and news websites in recent history: the Twin Towers attacks in 2001, the Japanese tsunami in 2011 and the one in Indonesia in 2018, and many more in the form of floods, mudslides, terrorist attacks, etc. Tragedy may impact its victims in an indelible manner, which calls for knowing what to do if calamity strikes.

In her book The Unthinkable, Amanda Ripley reports on several disasters that have let the people involved marred by the outcome. Coincidentally, she mentions that she came in contact with survivors of daring situations during her work as a correspondent. She notices that along with the story of survival, there is always a component of stoicism and resilience that emerged.

By reading the book, it is interesting to realize how people react to emergencies and how they behave. The author recognizes that the people who found themselves in the middle of an urgent situation tend to normalize what happened, that is, finding a logical explanation for what otherwise would have seemed abnormal. It is as if they make a conscious effort not to accept that something might be wrong and has caught them in the middle of it. After that, they go through a phase of deliberation when they talk to themselves or other people trying to understand what is going on. Finally, there is the decisive moment when they act, and that very moment makes the difference between life and death. If action is not taken, it might be very late even minutes later. All this is certainly fascinating.

A surprising fact the author accounts for in the book is that, according to her experience and the recount of survivors she interviewed, the human brain does not seem to be wired up to deal with emergencies. The brain is always looking for a pattern, and when something odd takes places, it resists to accept it in the first place and starts to look for an explanation or a reason to justify the irregular occurrence. A confirming aspect of what Ripley tells in the book is that, whatever the condition a person finds themselves, they tend to follow specific known patterns, for example searching for an emergency exit or calling 911. It follows that training people to perform automatic behaviors in case of calamities can safe many lives. This aspect calls for a reflection about being prepared at all times and knowing what to do during an emergency.

After reading The Unthinkable, it is impossible not to consider the idea of sharing the valuable information that survivors and the author herself provide in the book regarding what to do to cope with catastrophic events. One piece of advice that any reader should value is that, regardless of how odd a situation might be, the people involved should not try to normalize it. On the contrary, they should start to look for evidence that proves that everything is all right, or wrong and take adequate action. If the person’s involved have received appropriate training, the will perform behavioral patterns that can tackle the situation effectively.

References

Ripley, A. (2009).The unthinkable: Who survives when disaster strikes – and why. New York: Crown Publications.