From xkcd, of course. The title is “Conditional Risk” which is a morphing of “Conditional Probability” into the current situation.
I love watching lightening storms. But the most adventuresome I get while doing that is setting on my front step.
From xkcd, of course. The title is “Conditional Risk” which is a morphing of “Conditional Probability” into the current situation.
I love watching lightening storms. But the most adventuresome I get while doing that is setting on my front step.
That’s one of those things where the odds change greatly depending on circumstance. Kind of like how being the victim of a violent crime is a low probability event, which assumes you don’t walk through crappy inner-city neighborhoods as a hobby. I was nearly hit by lightning hiking up (which quickly turned into a hike down once I heard thunder) Mount Helena in Montana. I asked my resident local Andrew for the quickest way down the mountain. He didn’t mention it would go down the part that was clear cut. While moving through this section, a bolt came down and blew apart a rock probably 50 feet in front of me. I had thrown my hiking pole away at this point, because it seemed like a bad idea to carry a lightning rod. Loudest clap of thunder I ever heard. I consider myself lucky. I figure my odds of being struck were probably quite high.
I once stood next to a water tower on top of a hill during a lightning storm while taking pictures. I’ve gotten considerably better at it since then. I have always stated though that was probably not the brightest thing in the world to do. Usually I just sit on the back deck and watch them roll by. If the flash and clap get below about 7 seconds (1 1/2 miles) I go inside. This was true even for the hill incident, the problem is that doesn’t prevent a freak bolt from hitting the tower anyway.
B