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Why Metaphors Matter in Risk

  We all use metaphors in how we speak and communicate to each other. Metaphor is poetic language that requires imagination to understand how a bridge is created for understanding. A metaphor is a mechanism that uses an image to convey meaning about something else (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphor ). Essentially a metaphor is a paradox, we try …

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The Search for Meaning in Safety Models

The Search for Meaning in Safety Models There is a huge chasm between three things: the intent and design (assumed philosophy) of a model, the semiotic diffusion of the model and what humans make of the model. Models and symbols are not neutral nor objective. All models are semiotics and as such seek to explain …

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Safety Superstitions

Safety Superstitions One of the trade-offs in the limited STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) curriculum (https://safetyrisk.net/isnt-it-time-we-reformed-the-whs-curriculum/) in safety is its inability to perceive its own religious trends and superstitions (https://safetyrisk.net/no-evidence-for-the-religion-of-zero/). The strange paradox about blind STEM thinking is that it has fostered the most amazing religiosity and superstitions in culture in the safety industry. …

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