The repetition of rituals, habits and ceremonies offer comfort to those seeking certainty. This creates a sense of safety that is often accompanied by symbolic myths endorsed by narratives about linear being, order and control. The best way to know that this is a myth is when something goes wrong … [Read more...] about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the Quest for Certainty in Safety
uncertainty
The Repression of Uncertainty
The Repression of Uncertainty The belief is that the solution to every safety problem must be a rational systems process, hence the ever growing overload of paperwork in the workspace driving new cultural problems of ‘tick and flick’, overconfidence and ‘dumb down’ thinking. The most common words … [Read more...] about The Repression of Uncertainty
Hazards and Controls – Risks and Uncertainty
There’s no doubt about it, Safety loves the language of ‘hazards’ and ‘controls’. It loves those hazard registers with thousands of listed hazards. And why does Safety love this language so much, because it creates the mystique of certainty. There is no certainty but the process creates a feeling of … [Read more...] about Hazards and Controls – Risks and Uncertainty
Radical Uncertainty
Radical Uncertainty I’m not an economist but we have much we can learn from other disciplines. Kay and King’s book Radical Uncertainty (2020) should be a compulsory read for safety people. Moreso, for anyone spruiking the nonsense of zero. Kay and King have produced an easy to read book on the … [Read more...] about Radical Uncertainty
The Focus Should Be on Risk, Not Safety
One of the central problems with Safety is its focus on safety, a temporary outcome. The real focus of Safety should be on risk, the permanent and continual presence of uncertainty on outcomes. By focusing on the outcome of safety, the industry misunderstands risk and devalues it and with the … [Read more...] about The Focus Should Be on Risk, Not Safety
The Certainty of Uncertainty
The Certainty of Uncertainty I have written recently on the nature of uncertainty (https://safetyrisk.net/radical-uncertainty/) and its relationship to risk. I have also written about a psychosis that accompanies the fear of uncertainty … [Read more...] about The Certainty of Uncertainty