this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2025
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No Stupid Questions

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If a person reads a lot of theory about how to swim, different types of techniques, other people's written experiences etc., can they swim if thrown in a deep swimming pool? Or, at least, be able to swim enough to reach the steep end and save themselves from drowning?

By "a lot", I mean spending over 6 months to a year, gaining theoretical knowledge. And when we throw them in the pool, they are willing to try it, as in, "I have learnt enough, and I am willing to try it out."

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[โ€“] [email protected] 35 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (10 children)

Based on some real-world knowledge, no.

For example, there's this class that military helicopter pilots take as part of training for surviving water landings. They have the body of a helicopter which can be dropped into a big swimming pool. The pilots strap in, they're dropped into the pool, and they have to unbuckled and exit the helicopter.

So many people fail this, repeatedly. Scuba divers are in the pool just to extract the people who can't make it out. The issue is that when you panic, you tend to stop thinking rationally; it's why swimmer lifesaving is so dangerous - a panicking swimmer will do anything to save themselves, including grabbing the lifesaver and trying to climb on top of them, which can result in both people drowning. In the pilot case, people panic and can't unbuckle themselves, straining against the restraints to get out, until they have to be rescued. Even if they start well, trying to unbuckle, if they fumble at the restraints, they can panic and then they stop trying to unbuckle. Even though the helicopter is only a cockpit and a bay with big van-style doors, people panic and get lost trying to get out; they just can't find the bay doors, and have to be rescued. For these night tests, you can't see which was is up, and people panic and forget to take time to orient, and swim toward the bottom of the pool, and have to be rescued.

All of the theory in the world can't protect you from panic; the only thing that helps is experience. You do it enough that you get used to it and have confidence that keeps the panic at bay.

Studying isn't enough, because the first thing that goes when you panic is your ability to think rationally, and the only way to prevent panic is confidence, and that's developed through experience. It's why teaching always includes homework: you have to exercise the knowledge for it to become second nature.

[โ€“] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago

Hitting particularly cold water makes it even worse.

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