If you haven’t heard of Alex Honnold or his incredible feat in climbing El Capitan with no ropes, please watch the documentary Free Solo (that is, if you’re not too afraid of heights). Honnold credits his fame to his very intense style of climbing: alone, and without ropes. This is, obviously, one of the most dangerous activities someone can test their body with, but what does it offer the climber? Does Honnold seek thrill, fame, or something else?
Honnold’s brain is something that psychologists have approached from a neurological perspective. Although he doesn’t like to be studied like an animal (understandably), in Free Solo, he underwent an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scan to examine his brain’s response to certain stimuli. The results were shocking: his amygdala, which is the part of the brain that responds to fear, showed little to no reaction when exposed to extremely fearful situations. However, this is different to many people who seek high-thrill situations, who often lack an amygdala entirely. This suggests that Honnold may just be adept at regulating his reactions to jarring stimuli.
After watching how Honnold actually goes about his climbing, I was reminded of the Gardner’s chapter on Einstein and his relation to creativity. They both have this sort of spacial awareness that allows them to work through problems in their minds. Although Honnold definitely goes about his creativity in a more physical way, they still use their minds to explore the possibilities of their surroundings. They also both created because of their desire to expand their horizons and grow from new experiences.
One thing that struck me was Honnold’s reaction to the camera men as well as his reaction to actually achieving this incredible feat. He definitely was wary of the cameras being near him, causing the crew to have to invent ways to stay mostly out of his line of sight for much of the filming of his climb. He definitely was not doing it for the fame.
As for when he reached the summit of El Capitan, he seemed…nonchalant to say the least. There were no hoots and hollers, no tears, just Honnold repeating the phrase, “I’m so delighted!” a few times. He did this insane thing because he genuinely loves it. It is why he still lives in a van despite his fame for much of the year. This way, he can still climb as much as he wants, he can still do what he loves so much. This is key in creativity. As highlighted in an article by Amabile and Pillemer, the Intrinsic Motivation Hypothesis of Creativity proposes that “The intrinsically motivated state is conducive to creativity, whereas the extrinsically motivated state is detrimental.” Honnold is motivated inwardly, which is what makes him so successful. If he was motivated by the fame, it is likely that he would have fallen to his death just to get the right angles to please the camera men.
Sources:
Creating Minds by Howard Gardner
Free Solo
"Perspectives on the Social Psychology of Creativity" by Teresa M. Amabile and Julianna Pillemer
http://www.alexhonnold.com/about#bio
www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/athletes/alex-honnold/most-dangerous-free-solo-climb-yosemite-national-park-el-capitan/#close
nautil.us/issue/39/sport/the-strange-brain-of-the-worlds-greatest-solo-climber
This is a really interesting post and a great example of intrinsic motivation. I think often times it is hard to find people who are truly intrinsically motivated. For a lot of people fame is an exciting part of what they do. Even his reaction to his accomplishment shows that he really just does it because he enjoys it.
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool! It's so interesting that his brain works like that and that he is able to accomplish such a challenging feat because he doesn't react as strongly to fear. The science there is so cool! I love how he isn't accomplishing these incredible things for fame, but because it's just something he genuinely enjoys and wants to do.
ReplyDeleteReading about Honnold's amygdala's response (or rather, lack of response) to highly fearful stimuli is really fascinating. The regulation of emotional response is really important for thrill-seeking, of course, and also creativity in general. That control probably allows him to be so successful in processing his next moves while he climbs! Super cool example of how physiological factors affect creativity!
ReplyDeleteI think its interesting that he is able to suppress his fear response compared to other thrill seekers who don't have an amygdala. I wonder if he was born with the ability to minimize this fear or if he developed the minimization of the response by constantly putting himself in dangerous situations to the point where it numbed his brain. The fact that he isn't in it for the fame is also cool. It shows that he has a true love for what he is doing. I agree that this intrinsic motivation is the key to success.
ReplyDeleteI think the lack of response from the amygdala can certainly be useful in feats such as this, but would not always serve one well! I can also just imagine him saying "I'm so delighted." It really shows the true joy that he gets from climbing. Also, I think the not wanting the cameras in his line of sight is a sign that he is achieving flow--he doesn't want anything to distract him from his art.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great blog post. It's great to hear of someone just doing something because he loves it. I first saw Alex in the ESPN Body Issue magazine. Here they take pictures of athletes in the nude doing their sports. Alex's pictures are stunning. The definition of his muscles is incredible. The shots of him defying gravity was incredible. Definitely check out those pictures.
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