Articles
Parachutes, Who Needs ‘Em?
A recent headline in an article states, “A study found that parachutes were no more
effective than empty backpacks at protecting jumpers from aircraft”. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?
This is how the researchers conducted their experiment.
The group of volunteers met the researchers at a local airport where they were given their
instructions. The group of volunteers were placed into a blind study in which they were given
either an empty backpack or a parachute. The volunteers were then placed in a plane and a
helicopter and asked to jump out. The results were staggering. In both cases when the volunteers
jumped out of the plane or the helicopter it did not matter if they had the parachute or the empty
backpack. Researchers found there was no statistical difference in the results. In fact, the
researchers found the volunteers suffered no deaths or injuries at all in either group. When the
paper was written up and published, the results shocked the world until you read the rest of the
paper. The volunteers jumped out of a small biplane and a helicopter both of which were firmly
sitting on the ground. The volunteers only jumped about 2 feet. The paper is actually a paper
about the importance of research and proper experimental design.
A T-shirt I recently saw stated: I wanted to go jogging but Proverbs 28:1 says “The
wicked run when no one is chasing them.” So there’s that…. The shirt does something we have
all seen and maybe even been guilty of, taking things out of context. The importance of closely
reading does not end with research papers or things we find on the internet. We should never
underestimate the necessity and importance of studying God’s word closely and in context. ~B
Tolbert
