Week 3 The Unthinkable Who Survives when Disaster Strikes & Why Book Response
Hi, I have 3 of my classmates’ posts. I need you to respond to each one separately. Also, one source at least for each one of them. Don’t write about how good their posts or how bad. All you need to do is to choose one point of the post and explore it a little bit with one source support for each response. The paper should be APA style.
The question was:
Amanda Ripley’s The Unthinkable:
You should have easily finished The Unthinkable by now. In this book, journalist Amanda Ripley explores how we react in a disaster and why. She also discusses how we can better prepare ourselves for survival when faced with the unexpected. Use the following questions as potential starting points for discussion. You don’t have to answer them sequentially or even answer all of them! Please share your honest perceptions and points of learning
1.Reflect on this book and how it impacted you. What was surprising? What was confirming?
2.Did anything you read influence you in the present or in terms of what you will do (or not do) in the future?
3.What did you learn about how people react in a disaster event? Did anything surprise or fascinate you?
4.If you could share one thing with a loved one or peer, what would it be?
5.Feel free to share anything further that was impactful for you
Respond to at least 3 other classmates.
This the first post from my classmate IBRAHIM need for response:
Book Reflection: The Unthinkable
“The Unthinkable’ is an excellent book which describes disasters and how people react to them. Disasters are bound to happen in the life of humans. The problem with many disasters is that they happen suddenly and people are not presented with time to think about the most appropriate courses of action. In the book, Ripley says that the manner in which a person reacts to a disaster plays an important role in determining whether one survives or not. When I look at this book deeply, I feel like Ripley is making an attempt to establish the extent to which the human brain may work in an environment as distressing as a disaster to process information very fast and allow individuals to make the most appropriate decisions. From the book, I find it interesting that the human brain has the capacity and ability to work better than I had even thought about during disasters. The book says that it is as a result of the working of the brain that some people usually act strangely during disasters (Ripley, 2009). Most importantly, Ripley says that “we can teach our brains to work more quickly, maybe even more wisely, under great stress.” The meaning of this is that the brain will only act during disasters in a manner which is consistent with its training.
Reading this book has had a tremendous impact on my present, especially as I prepare for the future. One thing which the book has made clear to me is that in many cases, we underestimate the capability of our brains. I have learned that my brain will always give me what I give to it, and that makes it necessary to understand that I should always make attempts to train my brain according to my expectations (Ripley, 2009). Thus, I am responsible for the development of my brain. Since all of us are likely to experience a disaster at any point in our life, it is essential for me to train my brain at the moment as I prepare or any eventuality in the future.
After reading the book, I have understood that many people usually react in the wrong way when they are faced with disasters. Many people panic, and that is the beginning of missteps in reaction to disasters. The book states that in every disaster scenario, the brain needs to be trained on what needs to be done (Ripley, 2009). For example, when people are on a plane, they always get trained concerning the most appropriate ways to react to disasters. Similarly, people need to learn to understand the different ways through which they may act in different scenarios of disaster. Thus, when I see that many people are not reacting appropriately to disasters, I appreciate that it is as a result of their failure to train their brains.
One thing which I may love to share with other people, including my loved ones from the book is that the brain plays an important role in disaster response. When an individual is presented with a tough situation such as a disaster, it is always important not to panic but to let the brain think systemically. Ripley says that “we have more control over our fates than we think. But we need to stop underestimating ourselves” (Ripley, 2009).
References
Ripley, A. (2009). The unthinkable: Who survives when disaster strikes-and why. Harmony.
This the second post from my classmate FAHAD need for response:
This book by Amanda Ripley has greatly impacted my life and personality positively. This is because I realized that my disaster personality is not as strong as I imagined it would be. Instead,
