Curriculum ideas for "Into Thin Air"

[Terisa King]

Into Thin Air,

 

 I use this TED talk with Ken Kamler, Adventure Physician, as an example of a primary source.  He was the attending physician on Everest that day.  His talk has a facinating bit of his research on one of the hikers who somehow found the will to live. Dr. Kamler examines and shows actual films of the brain as it engages the very center of man's self preservation and will. I pair Into Thin Air with Jack London's Yukon stories, Dr. Kamler's first person account of the "Worst accident on Everest" and the Red Cross's pamphlet on treating hypothermia.  Usually, a lively student discussion leads to someone asking about canibalism and Donner Pass.

http://www.ted.com/speakers/ken_kamler.html/a>;!--copy and paste-->