Okay, question: how many people here fear swimming in deep water? in the pool? in a lake? in the ocean?

I have no fear of depth, and have swum (off a boat) in open seawater/baywater. If you dropped me from a plane into the open sea, I might have different feelings about it, because I discovered while sailing that I do have a mild horizon-paranoia: when it was sea in all directions off the boat, I got nervous.

This was in the Chesapeake, which is not exactly Wild Open Sea, so I am pretty sure it was the pure visual stimulus of seeing no permanent features in any direction. I have spent my whole life not too far from the coast, but that means close on land, and close by sea as well. (And the land is a particularly hilly part of the country.)

See, that's the thing about my general thesis is it's based on my students. And my friends. Most of my nonswimming friends are nonwhite. In fact, one of them is a godparent to an Athletic Director at a Major University here and that AD (also black) made claims about race and swimming, that blacks don't swim for a variety of reasons.

And another friend mentions that it also has to do with cultural issues, such as pools were segregated and kids who have parents who don't swim, often don't learn on their own.

And then there were hair issues.

It's been a fascinating topic of discussion.

By the time I got to high school in London, I was the best swimmer there, in a mostly white school. At my high school in Jamaica, predominantly black, I was average. I think the best swimmers in my year tended to not be black, but I doubt it was as marked as it would be here--being able to swim and being competitive about swimming are different enough.

FTR, I love swimming. Open ocean is the thing most likely to freak me out due to all of the things you are mentioning. But I've swum and dove off boots in deep deep water and I'm not bothered at all. But I grew up swimming.

Not being able to swim often weirdly catches me like not being able to read. Probably because I learned both things around the same time.

AD (also black) made claims about race and swimming, that blacks don't swim for a variety of reasons.

Maybe similar reasons to the under-representation in other country-club like sports? If you don't need it for day-to-day, and you're not going to make big bucks at it...but I have no idea about Hispanics or Asians and swimming.

Well AD's claims were physiological. He said it was a bone density thing. I mention this because friend is now married to an avid swimmer, a woman who played water polo in high school and college and who also swam competitively. Friend doesn't want to learn to swim (which was part of the marriage deal... she has to learn to cook).

Fascinating.

It's been a fascinating topic of discussion.

Sounds like it. I will say, too, that being Southern, white, and having had a fairly privileged, somewhat urban upbringing, my perspective is certainly skewed. When I think about it, I can't recall any of my friends who were black ever swimming in pools, but that may have been because pool swimming was less common than open-water swimming by the time I was in high school. I know at the local pool, most of the people in the pool are usually people of color, but the lap swimmers are almost exclusively white.

By the time I got to high school in London, I was the best swimmer there, in a mostly white school. At my high school in Jamaica, predominantly black, I was average. I think the best swimmers in my year tended to not be black, but I doubt it was as marked as it would be here--being able to swim and being competitive about swimming are different enough.

I would posit that this may be a result of geography, not race. Not a lot of beaches in England, but the beach (and therefore swimming) is an integral part of life in jamaica, right? this is of course completely an assumption on my part.

the lap swimmers are almost exclusively white.

This is what I notice, even at Caltech. Also, interestingly, most of the adults in lessons are asian.

Well AD's claims were physiological. He said it was a bone density thing.

And yet we can jump...yeah, I got nothing. I don't see why bone density would stop someone from having swimming lessons or developing basic competency. It totally has to be socialised at that point.

And does the density really translate to that much difference in the water?