One of the tragic outcomes of zero language in safety is the fixation on binary thinking (https://safetyrisk.net/the-binary-barnacle/ ; https://safetyrisk.net/non-binary-decision-making-in-risk/ ). It’s always about zero or 1. It’s always black or white, fast or slow (thanks Kahneman) no in-between. … [Read more...] about The Language of In-Between in Safety
language
Listening to the Symbols of Christmas
Listening to the Symbols of Christmas A good way to discern what someone is talking about is to listen to their language, words spoken and unspoken. If someone is talking about ‘learning’ or ‘culture’ and doesn’t speak about embodiment, the unconscious, mystery, wisdom, symbolism, mythology, … [Read more...] about Listening to the Symbols of Christmas
What You Profess in Safety
What You Profess in Safety There is no separation between claiming the word ‘professional’ and what you profess. What one professes determines if one is profess-ional regardless of whether one likes to claim the word as a brand or not (https://safetyrisk.net/not-a-professions-bootlace/ ). … [Read more...] about What You Profess in Safety
How Risky is Your Safety Spin?
How Risky is Your Safety Spin? Rob Long has agreed to publically release another awesome video which is part of the package you receive with his new book: Risky Conversations, The Law, Social Psychology and Risk “What you say in health and safety, regardless of whether or not it is just an … [Read more...] about How Risky is Your Safety Spin?
Culture Silences in Safety – Language
When culture is defined as ‘what you DO around here’ it pushes the most important element of culture (Language) to the background. This also helps Safety speak nonsense to people and to speak safety code (https://safetyrisk.net/deciphering-safety-code/ ). Safety code is a form of language that … [Read more...] about Culture Silences in Safety – Language
Linguistics and Risk
Linguistics and Risk Here’s a little experiment for you. Start calling someone a loser and see what happens. Of course, we don’t speak such language, especially to children, because we all know that language creates self-fulfilling prophecies. The language you speak and the text you write are … [Read more...] about Linguistics and Risk
Language Shapes Culture in Risk
So many things shape and influence culture and such simplistic ideas as ‘structure shapes culture’ (Hopkins) could only be thought up by Safety. As usual, the opposite is the case (Lotman). Of course, you won’t find anything about Linguistics in the Safety curriculum. This is why it is so easy … [Read more...] about Language Shapes Culture in Risk
Utopian Language and the Quest for Perfection in Safety
Idealism is the unrealistic pursuit of perfection. In philosophy, Idealism privileges the world of ideas over matter and energy. Hannah Arendt wrote in The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951), ‘the self-compulsion of ideological thinking ruins all relationships with reality’. This is what the … [Read more...] about Utopian Language and the Quest for Perfection in Safety
Identity and Safety
The term identity politics has its source in the 1970s and defines the political identity of groups under various forms of oppression. Often this expression ‘identity politics’ is used pejoratively (https://www.vox.com/identities/2016/12/2/13718770/identity-politics ) and coupled with other silly … [Read more...] about Identity and Safety
Linguistics and Safety
When I was teaching Linguistics in Secondary and Tertiary contexts, I would always repeat the well-known aphorism: ‘say what you mean and mean what you say’. How unfortunate that the safety industry has no interest in Linguistics and thinks it is fine to speak gobbledygook to people … [Read more...] about Linguistics and Safety
