Making Your Mark on the (Skydiving) World

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Maybe you should try the new bonfire

[DSE 3]

"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." - Lord Kelvin "
Thankfully, the Wright brothers didn't pay heed, and decided to keep trying (whether it made a mark in the world or not).

“Well informed people know it is impossible to transmit the voice over wires and that were it possible to do so, the thing would be of no practical value.” [The Boston Post in 1865]

Glad Marconi and Philo Farnsworth felt the need to "make their mark."

IMO, many people (who may be accused of motivation to 'make a mark') may actually just have a desire to do something different, and whether their name is known or not, doesn't matter. Sometimes their competence or talent forces them into the spotlight. We all know very talented, but relatively unknown personalities.

[Rainbo 0]

I think what Gary is getting at is that before they know that an idea is just a rehash of an old idea they want to make the world believe that they have given "us" something we should all be thankful for.

It might be an issue that is easier to see when you have been around for more than just a decade (or less). Some of us have been around to help develop things that are commonplace in the sport but you may not know our names or what we did. Some people find satisfaction in just giving and not promoting.

I don't think that Gary would bash true innovation, just innovation that has been repackaged and sold as something new to help some people build thier own self esteem.

But those are just my humble opinions.

Rainbo
TheSpeedTriple - Speed is everything
"Blessed are those who can give without remembering, and take without forgetting."

[cocheese 0]

For 20 years i have been thinking of things that would make skydiving better. Shame on me for never doing anything about the new ideas i had.

I want to invent something for skydiving that will sell just enough units to make my mark yet leave me broke as hell.

[diverdriver 5]

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"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." - Lord Kelvin "
Thankfully, the Wright brothers didn't pay heed, and decided to keep trying (whether it made a mark in the world or not).

“Well informed people know it is impossible to transmit the voice over wires and that were it possible to do so, the thing would be of no practical value.” [The Boston Post in 1865]

Glad Marconi and Philo Farnsworth felt the need to "make their mark."

IMO, many people (who may be accused of motivation to 'make a mark') may actually just have a desire to do something different, and whether their name is known or not, doesn't matter. Sometimes their competence or talent forces them into the spotlight. We all know very talented, but relatively unknown personalities.

How I took Gary's post is that "make a mark" means "hype". Yes, many have made something new in the past. Yet they didn't go around tooting their horn over and over about how "cool" it was and the "in crowd" were the only ones allowed to do it/have it. The Wright Brothers were IGNORED for years when they flew. They went about their business of refining their flying machine. They were trying to do something new yet didn't need to go to the county fair, drum up hype to prove their worth. They KNEW what they were doing was worth it. Time told the story but they were not trying to just make their mark. They wanted to achieve something rather than be somebody.

That's how I took Gary's post and idea.


edit to add: Then I read further and saw Rainbo said pretty much the same thing.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125

[Andy9o8 0]

"Nuclear physics ain't so new, and it ain't so clear."

- Pogo

[DSE 3]

I'd venture to say that much of what we read, hear, experience are "rehashes" of what has gone before. Sure, there is some *true* innovation, but it's rare as hens teeth.
I think assigning it to being motivated by "helping their own self esteem" is somewhat shallow as well.
What one man does out of ego, another man does out of fear, what one man does of greed, another does of survival.
I don't believe it matters whether we're talking about skydiving or not. I believe it's human nature.
At the end of the day, someone *feels* they've been innovative, when of course, they're just a new twist to an old story. But it may be that the product, message, or technique reached someone in a different way than previous demonstrations, products, or explanations may have. Does it matter if the concept has been around for 1 year or 100?
Who decides what "true innovation" may be? Henry Ford didn't invent the automobile, and apparently Robert Jarvik didn't invent the Jarvik heart. Would anyone argue that they weren't true innovators?
No matter how it gets sliced, at some point, this sort of discussion boils down to the Crab Story, because no one can truly know what motivates anyone, IMO.

[LouDiamond 1]

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I think what Gary is getting at is that before they know that an idea is just a rehash of an old idea they want to make the world believe that they have given "us" something we should all be thankful for.

It might be an issue that is easier to see when you have been around for more than just a decade (or less). Some of us have been around to help develop things that are commonplace in the sport but you may not know our names or what we did. Some people find satisfaction in just giving and not promoting.

I don't think that Gary would bash true innovation, just innovation that has been repackaged and sold as something new to help some people build thier own self esteem.

But those are just my humble opinions.

BINGO! Give the man a cigar, he hit the nail on the head.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[Rainbo 0]

I prefer good Dominicans

Rainbo
TheSpeedTriple - Speed is everything
"Blessed are those who can give without remembering, and take without forgetting."

[Baksteen 84]

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Some create "new" skydiving disciplines

Some create "new" instructional techniques

Some create new products that have questionable value

Some create new products that have an incredibly limited market

disclaimer I have no knowledge at all of aerodynimic thingamijigs, colloquial English, or common sense.
Furthermore, I am neither experienced in any discipline, nor do I have any seniority rights by being a skydiver for years and years.
The following comment may be easily interpreted as a troll line, but bear with me:

I totally agree! Lets do away with all those unnecessary disciplines - What's the deal with that RW stuff anyway?

The definition of RW (FS) as i know it is
"A skydive during which at least one of the participants has the intention of getting close to at least one other participant".

This also applies to a lot of freeflying jumps I have seen, as well as wingsuit flocks (while wingsuiting itself is merely tracking in a different jumpsuit).
And how is BASE different from a simple hop and pop, except for the lower altitude?

What makes those people special?

The point I'm trying to make here is that every skydiving discipline (and related sport) has at least some things in common with every other discipline.
All it seems to take for a "subdiscipline" to become an acknowledged discipline in it's own right apparently is a few people who are willing to invest a lot of time in it, becoming very good at their favourite type of jump and trying to implement some standards a jumper needs to fulfill in order to teach such things to other people.
"Expert" instructors, in other words.

There.

Rant over, flame away.

Edit: Please don't bring out that tired old "faulty diagrams" argument yet again. The discussion as it is raging at the moment should have nothing to do with academics, but with the skydiving itself.

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[peek 20]

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Man I can't wait for this long cold winter to be over so I have something else to do than read these kinds of mundane threads that go nowhere.

Oh, come on Sandy! I'd bet you have a story or two to add to this thread.