Verification

bobswimsbobswims Santa Barbara CACharter Member
edited January 2016 in General Discussion

Verification has always been a topic of interest and concern in adventure sports. Here's an interesting perspective from the world of polar expeditions and mountaineering.

http://www.outsideonline.com/2047761/martin-szwed-antarctica-record-claim

evmoJenADanSimonellislknightAnthonyMcCarleytortuga

Comments

  • JenAJenA Charter Member

    I was really struck by this sentence by the article 's author: "I jumped at the opportunity to help shed light on what I believe is a growing cancer in the adventure world: the graying line between truth and fiction."

    "A growing cancer" is a powerful metaphor.

    Thanks for sharing that, @bobswims.

    DanSimonelliAnthonyMcCarley
  • DanSimonelliDanSimonelli San Diego CASenior Member

    So many thoughts provoked by this article in relation to our sport and recent "event", in parallel and contrasting.
    I pulled out a few with my corresponding thoughts:
    (most thoughts tend to conclude with Outside's inconsistent coverage / lack of journalistic integrity of two similar events).

    "Once the polar community took notice, several people began to poke holes in Szwed’s claims."

    What's the difference between "polar community" and the "marathon swimmer community"?
    So many times it was too easily dismissed that our community had no purview or standing to question claims of a "world record".

    "...few who are familiar with Antarctic expeditions believe that Szwed achieved his goal"

    ~
    ~

    "Most sports have guidelines, rules, and official governing bodies. Exploration, however—whether at the poles, in the mountains or jungles, or on the seas—is more of a free-for-all. The routes, loads, time frame, and exact specifications typically vary from one expedition to the next. An expedition can be partial, aided, supported, motorized, or guided. Without a governing body and easily understandable rating system, the public and the media tend to measure each claim with the same yardstick. To people unfamiliar with the realities of Antarctic travel—most everyone in the world, it’s safe to say—Szwed’s feat appeared as real as the next piece of news floating through the digital data stream. And therein lies a frightening reality of 21st-century exploration: Hoaxes abound, and they skew our perception of what it means to push the limits of human discovery."

    Insert "marathon" or "ultra-marathon" swims anywhere here.

    ~
    ~

    ExplorersWeb =

    I think MSF did an excellent and expert job of emulating this system/processes, albeit at a more rudimentary level, comparatively.

    ~
    ~

    Here's all I readily found (i.e., shallow search) of Outside Mag's coverage on DN.
    Nary a serious query about legitimacy or verification.
    Maybe Eric Larsen wasn't available?!

    http://www.outsideonline.com/1930541/diana-nyads-one-woman-swim-show

    http://www.outsideonline.com/1919561/adventurers-year-swimmer-diana-nyad

    https://www.facebook.com/outsidemagazine/posts/10151885407555429

    ~
    ~

    The real shame, to me (father of two) is not so much that there are charlatans anywhere, but that:

    "...most everyone in the world, it’s safe to say—Szwed’s feat appeared as real as the next piece of news floating through the digital data stream. And therein lies a frightening reality of 21st-century exploration: Hoaxes abound, and they skew our perception of what it means to push the limits of human discovery."

    JenAevmodpm50AnthonyMcCarleyrosemarymintIronMikeLeonard_Jansendavid_barraChrisgreenesuziedods
  • bobswimsbobswims Santa Barbara CACharter Member

    Thanks for the input Dan.

    I spent a number of years in the mountains and wilderness of Colorado, Alaska, Oregon and California before I took up marathon swimming later in life. I found there was much in common between marathon swimming and mountaineering and wilderness travel. However, it seemed, at least to me, that there was greater skepticism and demand for confirmation in those sports. That may no longer be the case as the marathon swimming community has moved toward demanding better verification. I think digital cameras, GPS and the internet have been a game changer in all of these activities.

    Regrettably, I do think that when you are attempting something that is going to require that you raise a lot of money to attempt, or for which you hope to reap great financial reward from, there is the temptation to call it "good enough" or "close enough" when measuring the accomplishment against its stated goals.

    Unfortunately, I still feel the willingness to fully open up about what happened (everything) during a swim still lags behind these other activities. When something goes wrong the community should be aware of it, and the community should apply it's collective knowledge and experience in exposing what went wrong, and what future swimmers could do to avoid running into the same problem or from suffering the same tragic event. There have been far more injuries and deaths in mountaineering and wilderness expeditions so maybe there is good reason for this difference, but we shouldn't let that be a reason not to adopt their approach.Thanks to its founders, this website and its forums offer a perfect place to engage the MS community and contribute to the collective knowledge of the sport.

    Frankly, the general public has no understanding what it takes to swim a Channel, climb a 7,000 meter peak or be out in the wilderness on your own for weeks at a time. It's all the same thing to them . . . . incomprehensible. It is up to those at the top of each sport to set the standards through complete transparency so that the community can evaluate the accomplishment or claim being made.

    evmoslknightDanSimonelliLeonard_Jansensuziedods
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