Some people are masochists, some are highly competitive alphas. A few are both.
Then there are sheep. And also lemmings.
I've participated in organised mountain bike races. Sure, I could have
ridden those course without the other participants at any other time,
but I never pushed myself as hard as when I was racing. "The pursuit
of the breaking point" is what I used to call it. I never did reach
it, which might be for the best.
But maybe Obelix had it right when he said "people are crazy".
--M.
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On 8 November 2010 22:15, Scott Loveless <[email protected]> wrote:
> O hai! This is way off topic and concerns the reasons people feel
> compelled to do things in a group. The PDML is such an eclectic
> group, though, I figured someone would know something about it. Worst
> case scenario - half of you tell me to shut up and the other half gets
> into a flame war. <g>
>
> I've been thinking about crowds, or rather the reasons people want to
> do things with other people. This stems from looking into events such
> as marathons. (I actually have no interest in running a marathon, but
> I'm going to use it as an example.) I'm curious as to what makes a
> person want to do these things under the watchful eye of a sanctioning
> body or event organizer. Also, I've noticed that there are people who
> will prepare for such events for the sole purpose of participating in
> the event. In other words, if the organized event, such as a
> marathon, didn't exist then there is a distinct possibility that the
> participants wouldn't have bothered training to run such a distance.
> These things seem obvious on the surface, but why wouldn't a person
> who is driven to prepare and participate in such events just do it
> anyway, even without the organization or other runners?
>
> I don't like crowds at all. The thought of spending money and dealing
> with the logistics of getting to and participating in a marathon, just
> so I can have a certificate and my name in a record book somewhere is
> completely foreign to me. Another example - there's the "Covered
> Bridge Metric Century" in Lancaster County, PA. It's a long,
> organized bicycle ride through some very scenic rolling hills. As the
> name implies, the ride passes by or crosses several covered bridges.
> The cue sheet is published and anyone can download it. I can go ride
> their metric century any time I want. Yet, every year hundreds of
> cyclists will pay money, deal with traffic and parking, and wait in
> lines just to ride this route with a bunch of other tourists. To me
> it sounds like a colossal headache. But to quite a few other people
> it is apparently enjoyable.
>
> I initially started looking for explanations with search terms like
> "crowd psychology", but that's something different. So what I'm
> asking for is the psychological terminology that applies to this
> behavior. I'd like to read more about it, but I'm unsure where to
> look. Thanks!
>
> --
> Scott Loveless
> http://www.twosixteen.com/fivetoedsloth/
> __o
> _'\<,_
> (*)/ (*)
>
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