"Expert" Advice

According to news reports, a surfer was followed and then attacked by a great white shark. This is not news; in fact, I have personally seen video footage (which should be available on the web) of two - yes, two - great white sharks working in tandem to try and bring down a surfer!

Now, experts will tell you that great whites are lone hunters. That you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than attacked by a great white. And, as they mentioned in this incident, that the shark "mistakenly" attacked the surfer because it thought he was "some kind of seal."

The Weirding's official reply to all of those is: bullshit, bullshit, and total bullshit.

You have a very great chance of getting attacked by a great white shark - if you are in the ocean. In fact, you have a slim chance of getting attacked by a shark if you swim in a river close to the ocean (check it out!). Your chances of getting attacked by a great white while swimming in the ocean are infinitely - mathematically incomputable - greater than being struck by lightning; your chances of being attacked by a shark in freshwater or on land are probably about the same as being struck by lightning. Yeah, I said it.

Sharks do not think people in the water are anything other than food. Sharks circle sinking ships - why do you think they do that? How many seals do you know that are made of wood and metal and carry a bunch of other seals on their backs? Sharks are known to "bump" lifeboats on a continual basis and reports say that they will follow such a raft for many, many miles. Why would they do that? Do they think a non-moving object, floating on the surface for a long time is a living thing?

Give it a rest, "Experts." Others' right to safety supersedes your rights to being right.