In Praise of Balance in Risk and the Threat of Extremism With all the focus on the terrible events in France and Sydney recently the word of the month is extremism. Following the events of the Lindt Seige and the Charlie Hedbo Masscre leaders are careful not to associate recent acts of terror with … [Read more...] about In Praise of Balance in Risk and the Threat of Extremism
Risk Aversion
Masking Politics with Safety
Another one from Dr Rob Long for our “WTF were they thinking files” on how gutless, narrow minded thinking can use “safety” as an excuse to cover an ulterior motive and destroy all of the hard work done by others with a genuine goal. Surprise, Surprise – a local Government Organisation is behind it! … [Read more...] about Masking Politics with Safety
Embracing Risk
Forward to the book “Real Risk” Risk used to be more prevalent in our society - and I would argue, more viscerally joyful than actually risky in an objective sense; the open door in the old style moving trains or ‘riding the hook’ as the old builders used to do to guide a load up a building site. … [Read more...] about Embracing Risk
Is Safety the Empire of Non-Sense?
Is Safety the Empire of Non-Sense? They say that the repetition of something makes people confirm that it is true. Is the case with safety discourse? As this blog site looks at the power and rule of the empire of non-sense we might ask, what is ‘the force’? More and more I observe the … [Read more...] about Is Safety the Empire of Non-Sense?
Shaking Hands and Christmas Unsafety
Shaking Hands and Christmas Unsafety I remember as a young child we would tease each other about touching girls and boys. ‘Ah, you’ve got girl germs’ we would say to tease our mates if they happened to brush against a girl, or we would push them into a girl and then make the accusation. Of … [Read more...] about Shaking Hands and Christmas Unsafety
A Bloody Hand Rail
A Bloody Hand Rail It doesn't matter where in the world you go there is always a safety crusader who doesn't understand what safety is about. The safety crusader is so fixated on petty objects they don't even realise that there are people in the world. I had a classic example this week when … [Read more...] about A Bloody Hand Rail
Risk Boldly
It’s great to see that the Australians of the Year are adventurers. The idea of adventure and learning in risk is central to all they represent. Even when they were in the midst of their rescue of the boys in the caves in Thailand they expected to lose some or all of the boys, they were prepared to … [Read more...] about Risk Boldly
It’s the –ism That Matters
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be safe but Safetyism is a psychosis (see: The Sickness of Safetyism). There’s nothing wrong with Science but scientism is dehumanizing. There is nothing wrong with being rational but rationalism warps a sense of human ‘being’. The notion of an ‘ism’ infers … [Read more...] about It’s the –ism That Matters
Release the Safety Monster and Wreck a Good TV Show
There are calls by safety crusaders to have TV DIY Shows ensure they set a good safety example (compliance is the most commonly used word) – Dr Rob Long responds: Release the Safety Monster and Wreck a Good TV Show I'm not much of a fan of reality TV shows especially the home renovation type or … [Read more...] about Release the Safety Monster and Wreck a Good TV Show
Safety Eugenics and the Engineering of Risk Aversion
The idea that one can diagnose who is an unsafe person via a psychometric test is the latest in the mindless quest for risk aversion. The fact that organisations would want to undertake such a diagnostic is in itself problematic, never mind the lack of rigorous research that could validate such a … [Read more...] about Safety Eugenics and the Engineering of Risk Aversion