"Inviting Disaster"

[dwilson]

I just read this book, it really made me think a lot harder about what acceptable tolerances are with regards to safety.  The author, James R. Chiles, points out countless times when engineers or technicians get frustrated and say "it's good enough" leading to near misses and catastrophic failures.  He also points out examples of simple precautions that saved the day.

In a sport where the condition of our machines is paramount to safety, this book should be right next to your Keith Code books.

[spyderchick]

There was an article in National Geographic Adventure about two years ago that profiled "Risk taking" personalities. You either have it or you don't. The most interesting thing was how they catagorized people as destructive risk takers or constructive risk takers.

Constructive risk taking was most often associated with high risk sports. Burns off steam, good outlet for aggression, that sort of thing. Destructive risk taking involved gambling, drugs, alcohol, and unprotected sex.

Interestingly enough, the sports aspect came into the destructive mode when you did not assess the risk seriously. They found that for example, white water rafters to ingnored the signs of impending dangerous conditions, such as after a storm, were likely to be seriously injured or die. Same with mountain climbers.

The constuctive risk takers would level the playing field, so to speak, by impecable prep, knowing weather reports, and conditioning their bodies to handle the stress of their sport.

I would assume you could put roadracers in the "destructive" camp if they were to prep their bike (or someone elses) as "good enough" rather than the highest standard. Of course there's always the bonzai move to pass just one more guy (come h&ll or high water) before the checkers.

They had a mini test associated with the article. Rhiannon got the highest score, I was in the middle, and Roger was not a risk taker. Poeple who start their own businesses are considered risk takers, along with stock brokers. We have a willingness to play the odds I guess.