Factors in human endurance.

Abstract

Edward Wilson, one of greatest Antarctic explorers, was alrmost an invalid when he was chosen as second doctor for Discovery Expedition in 1901. Only a year before that he was recovering from tuberculosis at Davos, and yet he was to become Captain Scott's right-hand man.' When Scott, Shackleton, and he went on sledge journey farthest south on that expedition Shaciketon survived only because of his companions' efforts. In 1910 Wilson went in Terra Nova on Scott's last attempt on South Pole itself. On this expedi tion he took part with Cherry-Garrard and Bowers in the worst journey in world. His last journey was to Pole itself, and, after both disappointment of finding Amundsen's Norwegian flag already there and of tragic deaths of Evans and Captain Oates, Scott, Bowers, and Wilson were caught in a snow blizzard and died of starvation.3 It was not a strong physique which made Wilson a great explorer: he stood out because, as Scott said: He really is finest character I ever met . . . every quality is so solid and dependable. It was quality of man which counted. This was true of Scott himself, as Apsley Cherry-Garrard recalls: Scott was strongest combination of a strong man in a strong body that I have ever known. And this because he was so weak! Naturally so peevish, highly strung, irritable, depressed, and moody. Practically such a conquest of himself, such personal and magnetic charm. . . . His triumphs are many-but Pole was not by any means greatest of them. Surely greatest was that he conquered his weaker self and became strong leader whom we went to follow and came to love.'4 The overriding importance of morale is stressed also by a recent Working Party on Accident Prevention, though rather more prosaically.5 To conclude, however, that survival, in difficult conditions depends on courage alone would be a dis tortion, since there are individual variations in physical capacity and adaptability in different situations. Limiting factors include individual's physical characteristics, extent to which environment imposes difficulties, and extent to which physiological mechanisms can adapt themselves. I shall con sider influence of these factors on performance and also other causes of accidents which may occur in athletic pursuits.