WASHINGTON (AP) — The crash landing of a South Korean airliner in San Francisco has revived concerns that airline pilots get so little opportunity these days to fly without the aid of sophisticated automation that their stick-and-rudder skills are eroding.
Quick comment – I effectively blogged about the above situation in my June 11th, 2013, post entitled There Are No “Ducks” In VirtualLand … Only “Cats In Shopping Carts”. In that post I wrote the following:
— o O Begin Excerpt O o —
[There is a] way of knowing the world that depends on synthesis, synthesizing a myriad of experiences and sensations to form an inner model or map of the surrounding world. Cognitive scientists call these “cognitive maps” or even “mental models.” (Bowlby’s theory depends heavily on the development of mental models, but that’s a story for another day.) When you see a professional athlete, say, an Olympic bobsled team member or figure skater, rehearsing in their heads, they’re rehearsing using their mental models of what they should expect: twists, turns, body sensations, sights, etc. With enough practice these mental models or cognitive maps become “second nature.” Pilots depend on this type of second nature [emphasis added]. So too big rig truck drivers and ship captains. They hear a symphony of synthesis, and when a song gets played that they don’t expect, they get nervous. For them, it’s second nature to duck at the right time and in the right direction without having to think. My veterinarian knows when to duck. Workers on a drilling rig know when to duck. Pilots, sea captains, big rig drivers, athletes, machinists, soldiers … they all know when to duck. They have to; it could mean their lives otherwise [and the lives of others as the tragic crash talked about above points out]. For a Hollywood depiction of a person who has an incredible sense of spatial cognition, grab a copy of the 2012 movie Flight with Denzel Washington. OK, this is a fictional airline pilot who saves many lives, but don’t forget what real life airline pilot C.B. Sullenberger did: saved many lives.
— o O End Excerpt O o —
Simply, there is no substitute for actually navigating, exploring, and experiencing the natural, real environment. Without such experiences inner working models or maps become compromised or otherwise corrupted, like so many cats being pushed around in shopping carts. (See my June 11th, 2013, post for more on the “cats in shopping carts” research design.) And as John Bowlby pointed out (over and over), the best way to navigate, explore, and experience the natural, real environment is to operate from a safe and secure home base. One’s sense of being safe and secure within must be bridged and connected to one’s sense of being safe and secure without. This is where early experiences of attachment meet up with the later development of EF or executive functioning. Sadly, an over reliance on artificial or simulated experiences can serve to impede the formation of proper attachment – EF connections. As the above article concludes (quoting flight instructor Cass Howell), “Too much automation can undermine your flying skills.” Probably wise words for all of us to live (fly) by.
COMMENT: Role of aircraft automation eyed in air crash – Yahoo! News
Role of aircraft automation eyed in air crash – Yahoo! News.
Quick comment – I effectively blogged about the above situation in my June 11th, 2013, post entitled There Are No “Ducks” In VirtualLand … Only “Cats In Shopping Carts”. In that post I wrote the following:
— o O Begin Excerpt O o —
[There is a] way of knowing the world that depends on synthesis, synthesizing a myriad of experiences and sensations to form an inner model or map of the surrounding world. Cognitive scientists call these “cognitive maps” or even “mental models.” (Bowlby’s theory depends heavily on the development of mental models, but that’s a story for another day.) When you see a professional athlete, say, an Olympic bobsled team member or figure skater, rehearsing in their heads, they’re rehearsing using their mental models of what they should expect: twists, turns, body sensations, sights, etc. With enough practice these mental models or cognitive maps become “second nature.” Pilots depend on this type of second nature [emphasis added]. So too big rig truck drivers and ship captains. They hear a symphony of synthesis, and when a song gets played that they don’t expect, they get nervous. For them, it’s second nature to duck at the right time and in the right direction without having to think. My veterinarian knows when to duck. Workers on a drilling rig know when to duck. Pilots, sea captains, big rig drivers, athletes, machinists, soldiers … they all know when to duck. They have to; it could mean their lives otherwise [and the lives of others as the tragic crash talked about above points out]. For a Hollywood depiction of a person who has an incredible sense of spatial cognition, grab a copy of the 2012 movie Flight with Denzel Washington. OK, this is a fictional airline pilot who saves many lives, but don’t forget what real life airline pilot C.B. Sullenberger did: saved many lives.
— o O End Excerpt O o —
Simply, there is no substitute for actually navigating, exploring, and experiencing the natural, real environment. Without such experiences inner working models or maps become compromised or otherwise corrupted, like so many cats being pushed around in shopping carts. (See my June 11th, 2013, post for more on the “cats in shopping carts” research design.) And as John Bowlby pointed out (over and over), the best way to navigate, explore, and experience the natural, real environment is to operate from a safe and secure home base. One’s sense of being safe and secure within must be bridged and connected to one’s sense of being safe and secure without. This is where early experiences of attachment meet up with the later development of EF or executive functioning. Sadly, an over reliance on artificial or simulated experiences can serve to impede the formation of proper attachment – EF connections. As the above article concludes (quoting flight instructor Cass Howell), “Too much automation can undermine your flying skills.” Probably wise words for all of us to live (fly) by.