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JGWeissman comments on Are You Anosognosic? - Less Wrong
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Anecdotal evidence: When I swim for distance underwater, and really push myself, I will often experience a strong compulsion to surface, even when I believe I can hold out for a few more feet and reach my goal. I am not even afraid of drowning, yet I consistently follow the compulsion to surface.
I can't think of a way to study this in an ethical controlled experiment, but data can be gathered from suicides and attempted suicides that would be relevant to the theory.
I have similar experiences when swimming underwater. I used to see if I could swim the length of the pool in one breath, and often would surface seemingly-prematurely out of a sudden strong desire to take a breath.
My old roommate reported having lots of trouble letting go of a handle when skydiving. He very much wanted to dive, and was not afraid of an unsafe landing, but instinct was very difficult to overcome.
Which reminds me that there are people who can hold their breath for insane amounts of time, so presumably they overcame this instinct, and start breathing only by intellectually deciding that they must do so to survive (and they likely know a lot about the properties of this danger).
I am with you in disagreeing with Eirenicon's assertion that self drowning in a bucket is impossible with probability 1, though I believe with high probability that it is difficult beyond the ability of most people. I was mainly objecting to your assertion that this couldn't be studied.
Also, merely holding your breath is not dangerous. You would pass out before suffering any permanent damage, and breathe normally while unconscious. It would be dangerous in an environment, such as under water, in which you could breathe normally after passing out.