What conceptual blocks were experienced by the smokejunpers?
Vertical thinking: when the fire was catching up with them, most smokejumpers ran up for the ridge. They were not able to think laterally; the only solution seemed the most straightforward. One thinking language: none of them were able to visualize how a burnt surface could save their lives; instead of a solution, they saw it as a worsening of their problem. Stereotyping based on past experience: The crew expected what they called “a 10:00 fire”, that is, they expected the fire to be extinguished by 10:00 next morning. Their mental image of that problem was much smaller than ...
