Aiming for the impossible'

Various adjectives from incredible to insane were used to describe Luke Aikins’ two-minute free fall from 25,000 feet (7,620 metres) above the California desert without a parachute into a net (30m x 30m) barely the size of a hockey field at a velocity of 190 kmph. Astonishing was the term most used as viewers saw such daredevilry and bravery. But there’s a thin red line separating the brave from the foolhardy, and Aikins, a professional skydiver, may have crossed the line, much as Evel Knievel seemed to every time he thought up bizarre stunts. Men like Aikin have put to shame those of us who can’t cross the road without thinking of hazards.

Thorough preparation, Aikins said, was the key to doing things we don’t think possible. The same imaginativeness, spirit of adventure and nerve to take on stunts has marked man’s yearning to attempt the impossible. Without an urge to challenge himself, man couldn’t have conquered space, landing on the moon decades ago. For the onlooker, the sheer effrontery of the adventure can be mind-boggling. From tightrope-walking across the Niagara with only a balancing stick in hand to climbing the face of mighty cliffs to ascending Mount Everest’s slippery slopes, man has dared to perform incredible feats in history. To those who have lived to earn accolades, we can only say hats off as they spur themselves on to greater feats, testing the incredulousness of fellow humans.