As example, let's imagine that the window washer man died upon hitting the pavement. Or perhaps he died shortly thereafter because nobody with your Boy Scout background was available to know what to do. Whether that is a dangerous situation would seem t…
As example, let's imagine that the window washer man died upon hitting the pavement. Or perhaps he died shortly thereafter because nobody with your Boy Scout background was available to know what to do. Whether that is a dangerous situation would seem to depend on a larger context.
What happens next to the man in this story?
Does his dead body become a rotting slab of meat in the ground? Is the story over? Is everything the man ever wanted now lost? If yes, then his fall can certainly be called a dangerous situation.
Does the dead man leave his body and go on to some gloriously wonderful after life as described by many religions and those who have had near death experiences? In this case the word "dangerous" is harder to apply to the situation. Is it dangerous if something unexpected happens and then we get everything we ever wanted, more than we could have ever imagined?
I don't know the answer of course, and tend to doubt that anyone does. But it interests me to observe that we often seem to assume that we do know the answer, and the language we use to describe such situations tends to reflect that.
To me, such reflections seem very relevant both to the enterprise of science, and to our relationship with nuclear weapons and other such threats.
Another angle to consider could be to ask...
What if there are no dangerous situations?
As example, let's imagine that the window washer man died upon hitting the pavement. Or perhaps he died shortly thereafter because nobody with your Boy Scout background was available to know what to do. Whether that is a dangerous situation would seem to depend on a larger context.
What happens next to the man in this story?
Does his dead body become a rotting slab of meat in the ground? Is the story over? Is everything the man ever wanted now lost? If yes, then his fall can certainly be called a dangerous situation.
Does the dead man leave his body and go on to some gloriously wonderful after life as described by many religions and those who have had near death experiences? In this case the word "dangerous" is harder to apply to the situation. Is it dangerous if something unexpected happens and then we get everything we ever wanted, more than we could have ever imagined?
I don't know the answer of course, and tend to doubt that anyone does. But it interests me to observe that we often seem to assume that we do know the answer, and the language we use to describe such situations tends to reflect that.
To me, such reflections seem very relevant both to the enterprise of science, and to our relationship with nuclear weapons and other such threats.