So, Tough Mudder just announced a couple new obstacles. The first is called "Happy Endings", and appears to be evidence of the old adage that "bigger is better":
I'm on the fence as to whether this is anything more than a knock-off from various other racing organizations. Savage Race has the Colossus, which is an oversized ramp on one side and then a slide into water on the other side. Happy Endings tries to up the scare factor by incorporating electricity for one part of the slide. I've seen a few people on Facebook saying "what's the worst that could happen" while posting the following GIF:
However, having said all of that, I'm not all that disappointed that this is just a bigger version of Pyramid Scheme and Everest. Or that it's just a knockoff of the Colossus. After all, there's only so much you can do with obstacles.
The thing that disappoints me is that (based on what I've heard so far) this is pretty much forced to be a group activity. I'm not averse to helping people up on an obstacle, or asking for help myself, but any obstacle that cannot legitimately be done individually is pretty crappy in my book. I continue to try and make it up Everest 2.0 by myself. I fail at that every time, but I give it a shot. If the ropes are down on Pyramid Scheme, it's actually a pretty easy obstacle to get up by yourself. There may be something I'm not seeing that would make this doable by yourself, but everyone who has attempted this obstacle has said that it takes a village to conquer. If you go out in one of the early waves, it's likely you'll reach this monstrosity all by your lonesome, which means you're all alone in your shame as you walk around it (not that I would ever do that, though). Of course, this is all conjecture, since I haven't actually seen this thing on a course yet, so it may be that there is some way to do it alone. I would assume that the folks in charge of Tough Mudder have thought this through, and will do something to address it. If that's the case, then I look forward to the challenge of beating this monstrosity.
The lesson that we might be able to learn from this for education is that it's important to take into account the context in which activities take place. As Americans we have this mindset of being able to "go it alone" and to "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps" and become "self-made men". All of this is BS, of course, since the reality is that we are the result of all our interactions. Our successes and our failures are the result of all of the help that we've received along the way. This would seem to counter my whole point complaining that this obstacle can't be done alone, but that's not quite how I see it. The help that we are provided doesn't have to come in the form of a helping hand at the top of an obstacle. It doesn't have to come in the form of a tower of people we crawl up as we ascend. Rather, the help can come in the form of the obstacle designers understanding the psychology of wanting to test ourselves, and provide an opportunity to at least try. We may end up needing help, but having that as a prerequisite for success can be counterproductive unless we are actually given the resources necessary to succeed.
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| Not actual size |
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| Because this dude looks disturbingly like me, I find it necessary to state that no Gazelles were harmed in the making of this GIF. |
The thing that disappoints me is that (based on what I've heard so far) this is pretty much forced to be a group activity. I'm not averse to helping people up on an obstacle, or asking for help myself, but any obstacle that cannot legitimately be done individually is pretty crappy in my book. I continue to try and make it up Everest 2.0 by myself. I fail at that every time, but I give it a shot. If the ropes are down on Pyramid Scheme, it's actually a pretty easy obstacle to get up by yourself. There may be something I'm not seeing that would make this doable by yourself, but everyone who has attempted this obstacle has said that it takes a village to conquer. If you go out in one of the early waves, it's likely you'll reach this monstrosity all by your lonesome, which means you're all alone in your shame as you walk around it (not that I would ever do that, though). Of course, this is all conjecture, since I haven't actually seen this thing on a course yet, so it may be that there is some way to do it alone. I would assume that the folks in charge of Tough Mudder have thought this through, and will do something to address it. If that's the case, then I look forward to the challenge of beating this monstrosity.
The lesson that we might be able to learn from this for education is that it's important to take into account the context in which activities take place. As Americans we have this mindset of being able to "go it alone" and to "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps" and become "self-made men". All of this is BS, of course, since the reality is that we are the result of all our interactions. Our successes and our failures are the result of all of the help that we've received along the way. This would seem to counter my whole point complaining that this obstacle can't be done alone, but that's not quite how I see it. The help that we are provided doesn't have to come in the form of a helping hand at the top of an obstacle. It doesn't have to come in the form of a tower of people we crawl up as we ascend. Rather, the help can come in the form of the obstacle designers understanding the psychology of wanting to test ourselves, and provide an opportunity to at least try. We may end up needing help, but having that as a prerequisite for success can be counterproductive unless we are actually given the resources necessary to succeed.
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