Situational awareness questions

[Becky]

On other threads it seems we have established that pilots are often geeky, and that perhaps ADHD in a pilot is a good thing because it helps them multitask.

I seek further understanding.

In terms of focusing on one thing very well, is situational awareness one "thing?" Similarly, is multitasking one "thing," something you can focus on?

Geeky people often don't multitask well because their tendency is to focus on one thing. Yet many pilots are geeky, and piloting requires a lot of multitasking.

A geeky type person usually possesses a formidable intellect. Their knowledge, opinions and insights are highly valued. Often, though, they seem to miss things in daily life. As PIC, are they also likely to miss things?

Example ... in a group conversation, they'll express a well-thought-out response to the third or fourth topic back, as if the group conversation hadn't moved on.

Did they miss the intervening subjects entirely whilst cogitating on the earlier subject that caught their interest?

And if so, when such a highly intelligent yet geeky person is PIC, do they, in that capacity, actually change, and NOT miss things? Example ... being busy with flying tasks, locating traffic, charting course, etc., yet also noting all other relevant occurrences inside and outside the plane and hearing everything ATC is saying?

Are you different (some traits recede, others come forth) as PIC than you are in your daily non-flying life?

Example ... in daily life you misplace your keys a lot, often forget appointments, miss a turnoff when driving, don't notice when people are talking to you ... but as PIC you have a highly developed situational awareness?

For the record: I like geeky people, usually enjoy spending time with them, and usually admire their abilities and accomplishments. I use the term "geeky" in a complimentary way.

Thank you.

 

[Jim Logajan]

Upshot: In fiction, the SA-savvy expert in charge almost always has a geek backing him up! And TOGETHER they tackle and conquer all challenges! Separately ... gets a little iffy.

But that is all fiction, and perhaps reflects little to nothing about reality.

Except for Boone, in all those fictional cases the command decisions often had to be made without input from more senior people, yet the commander would eventually have to answer to those senior people. One real-world analog I'm aware of is submarine commander (particularly during WWII) where they were often out of touch but had to make important local decisions. My vague recollection from the books I had read on submarine warfare was that the U.S. navy deliberately chose those who did not have "cowboy" personality traits - they wanted captains who were analytical and emotionally low key. Basically "just get the job done" types. More Spock, Data, or Picard than Kirk.

On the other hand, here's an interesting article on "What Makes a Good CO?" from the Navy website:

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_27/co2.html

I think it is interesting that they believe both analytical and "intuitive" decision making abilities are important; that analytical is not sufficient.

"Situational awareness" was listed first in their elements of success:
1. Good COs can process a lot of data, prioritize important cues, and recognize patterns-they have good situational awareness.

• They can sift the valuable and pertinent cues from the chaff, and maintain their focus.
• They can then recognize patterns emerging from those important cues. This applies to concrete and abstract situations.
  • The arrival angle is getting lower; the noise-to-sound ratio is going up; I can hear him on the underwater telephone. This is a closing contact.
  • There is nobody giving clear orders, the officer of the deck and junior officer of the deck are not agreeing on contact solutions; the fire control technician of the watch keeps asking for more observations; and the sonar supervisor is reassigning trackers to all contacts. My control room party is not certain of the contact situation.
  • For the last six months, I have had to intervene personally during the execution of too many evolutions throughout the ship. My teams are not properly preparing themselves for the tasks at hand.
• The combination of prioritizing the cues and recognizing the patterns is situational awareness.