Where Have All the Questions Gone?

I’ve followed Safetyrisk.net since 2011 and have learned (and changed) a lot during this time.

The site has, in the past, been a place for debate, discussion, and curiosity.

There was a time when questions emerged, conversations flowed freely, and people engaged deeply, wrestling with ideas, and they weren’t afraid to ask: What does this mean for me, for us, for practice?

Now as I reflect, I notice something different. The questions have quietened. The dialogue has near stopped, and the curiosity that once filled this space seems muted.

This has me reflecting… where have all the questions gone?

There might be fewer readers and questions because of the polemical nature of much of the writing, as it can be tempting to dismiss views when your response to the posts conflicts with your view of the world. After all, when our worldview is challenged, it’s often easier to move away from opposing views, rather than to leaning into and engaging with them.

Or perhaps, readers have become more certain, more entrenched, and less willing to doubt, discuss and ask questions?

This has me wondering:

• When we stop asking questions, do we risk slipping into a monologue and losing our curiosity?
• What happens to a community when curiosity fades?
• What is lost when dialogue gives way to silence?

A Transdisciplinary Approach…

Another reflection: many articles here, most of which align with my worldview, promote a transdisciplinary approach to risk and safety, including this recent post, which encourages us to extend our thinking about the curriculum in Safety.

Many of the blogs on the site encourage us to explore diverse fields, including social psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, theology, ethics, organisational learning, cultural theory, semiotics, linguistics, and education (among others), in relation to risk.

All these topics generally lie outside the traditional curriculum that risk and safety practitioners study. These topics may not be easy to embrace for some people whose background is rooted in traditional STEM-based sciences. Still, they are essential if we truly want to tackle risk holistically.

Some questions:

• How do we encourage learning outside of STEM for risk and safety practitioners?
• Conversely, for those who follow SPoR, what might be lacking when they are not open to the worldview and learning offered by STEM and other related disciplines; which seem to be the enemy of many posts on this site?
• If we genuinely value transdisciplinary approaches, how do we recognise the range of traditions and disciplines that shape our practice in risk and safety?
• What could it mean to acknowledge STEM approaches, such as systems thinking, engineering, mathematics, (traditional) ergonomics, and human factors; alongside learnings from SPoR?
• Could we unintentionally be narrowing the diversity a transdisciplinary approach promises by diminishing STEM in SPoR?

The Paradox of Belonging

Another thing I’ve been reflecting on lately is that being part of this website community (both through writing blogs and participating in discussions) and, indeed, the SPoR community has created a sense of belonging, which we know is critical to our well-being (see https://stories.uq.edu.au/research/impact/2020/a-social-cure-for-better-health/index.html).

My belonging in SPoR was deeply rooted in a sense of learning from others, in being comfortable testing and challenging our thinking, and in embracing (together), the uncertainty and the unknown.

There continue to be annual SPoR conferences and similar events (that I no longer attend), and, from experience, these gatherings do aim to promote a sense of belonging, shared learning, and connection, while also providing a sense of identity and reassurance.

However, being part of such a community and having such a sense of belonging carries a paradox.

What do I mean by this?

When we become deeply embedded in a group or movement, we can lose the ability to see things from others’ perspectives to the point where we may become blinded and bound by our own worldview.

Ironically, could what started as a connection easily harden into division, fostering an us-and-them mentality? Or, might this be beneficial, where opposing sides argue strongly from their viewpoints, and in doing so, opportunities for learning emerge?

Again, this has me reflecting:

• Is this the shadow side of belonging?
• How do we hold onto the value of group identity without closing ourselves off to difference?
• What practices might help us remain open to other voices, even when our own group feels so compelling?

A Call to Curiosity

I wrote this post because I feel Dave C has given a lot to the safety and risk community, and I know he cares about supporting that community to learn. Yet the site has become a place of silence and where one voice dominates, and that can’t be great for those seeking to learn more about how to better understand, tackle and deal with risk.

I call out to all those who used to be part of this community to share your thoughts, learnings and importantly, questions. Indeed, I also encourage new voices and views to emerge.

While we can learn a lot from the predominant author of posts, Professor Robert Long, and occasional blogs from a disciple or two (who mainly share the same views or ask loaded questions), Professor Long’s is only one voice in our world of risk and safety. Wouldn’t it be great if more people shared their experiences, reflections, sources of dissonance, and, importantly, questions?

Closing Thoughts

I don’t have many answers, and perhaps that’s the point. So instead, I leave you with questions:

• What questions are we not asking that we perhaps should?
• How might we breathe life back into dialogue here?
• What would it take for us to truly practice trans-disciplinarity, not just name it?

Because in the end, isn’t risk an invitation to wonder, explore and be curious?

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Rob Sams

Latest posts by Rob Sams (see all)

• Where Have All the Questions Gone? - December 1, 2025
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Rob is an experienced safety and people professional, having worked in a broad range of industries and work environments, including manufacturing, professional services (building and facilities maintenance), healthcare, transport, automotive, sales and marketing. He is a passionate leader who enjoys supporting people and organizations through periods of change. Rob specializes in making the challenges of risk and safety more understandable in the workplace. He uses his substantial skills and formal training in leadership, social psychology of risk and coaching to help organizations understand how to better manage people, risk and performance. Rob builds relationships and "scaffolds" people development and change so that organizations can achieve the meaningful goals they set for themselves. While Rob has specialist knowledge in systems, his passion is in making systems useable for people and organizations. In many ways, Rob is a translator; he interprets the complex language of processes, regulations and legislation into meaningful and practical tasks. Rob uses his knowledge of social psychology to help people and organizations filter the many pressures they are made anxious about by regulators and various media. He is able to bring the many complexities of systems demands down to earth to a relevant and practical level.