3 Heavy Life Lessons I learned From the OceanGate Tragedy
Things I learned about ego, adventure, and nature
On Thursday, June 22nd, my iPhone pinged with a news alert.
The Coast Guard had located debris from the Titan submersible.
The discovery closed the book on a story that captivated the world for a few days and confirmed what many believed had already happened — the Titan submersible had imploded, killing everyone inside.
The OceanGate tragedy left me emotional and conflicted all week. I felt horrible for the crew and their families, but I also laughed at the internet memes, which I’m not proud of.
A few days removed, I can see the humanity in the story and learned a few heavy life lessons about ego, adventure, and nature.
1.) I Need to Keep my Ego in Check
In the early 1900s, engineers kept trying to build helium Zeppelins for commercial use.
No matter how many iterations they made to the damn machines, they kept exploding and killing people. The historian S.C. Gwynne describes this period in history as "the triumph of hope over experience."
That describes OceanGate well, doesn't it? There was plenty of hope for the carbon fiber vessel to be able to withstand those depths, but it lacked experience.
For me, the tragedy was a reminder of all the risks I take without really thinking and just sort of hope for the best.
Like all the times I place a big purchase on a credit card, hoping it will pay itself back, but it usually ends up costing more. Or the times I park my car illegally, thinking the tow service is definitely not on call today.
Hope wins over experience a lot for me. It usually happens when I forget to check my ego or when I’m drowning in the Sunk Cost Fallacy.
Mistakes occur when you don’t have the courage to accept failure and try something else.
The Oceangate tragedy reminded me of how costly those mistakes can be, and I've been acutely aware of my decisions ever since.
2.) Rich People Have a Fatal Flaw
Keeping up with the Joneses renders the super-rich poor in spirit.
I’m reminded of James Clark, the Silicon Valley mogul who, upon discovering that a rival built a giant yacht, immediately got to work building a yacht a few feet larger.
Really? Of all things you could’ve done with your money, you decide to build a yacht out of spite? But that’s the irony in keeping up with the Joneses—While you’re trying to keep up with them, they’re busy keeping up with you.
The same goes for the super-rich tourism industry. A rival goes to space with Jeff Bezos; therefore, I will put myself at risk in an untested submersible (basically an underwater Zeppelin) just to keep up.
To quote Dr. Malcolm from Jurassic Park: “You spent so much time thinking if you could, you never stopped to think if you should.”
3.) We Don’t Control Nature
I keep a list of all the adventurous things I want to try one day.
- Swimming with sharks.
- Backpacking in the wilderness.
- Mountain climbing.
Until the OceanGate tragedy, I didn't believe these things were a big deal. I believed nothing bad could ever happen to me like I’m Ironman or something. Or even if things did go wrong, I would be with experts who know what they’re doing.
But no one controls nature —I’m more aware of that fact now. If you decide to take a risk, even for the right reasons, you better do your own homework.
Don't get me wrong, I still want to do these things, but you bet your ass that I'm going to study and train for each of these events.
The bottom line, I learned to be careful and to assess my risk with more diligence.
Why?
Because none of us are indestructible, none of us are beyond the flaws of our ego, and nature deserves our respect.