1. “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for” – John A. Shedd
2. ‘A thing is safe if its risks are judged to be acceptable’ – William W. Lawrence
We buy an ill-designed Iron box in a sale-> Underestimating risk
We judge fluoride in water can kill lots of people -> Overestimating risk
We hire a taxi, without thinking about its safety -> Not estimating risk
How does a judge pass a judgement on safety in these 3 cases?
….So, this definition won’t do in real life.
Then, what is acceptable also depends upon the individual or group’s value judgment. Hence a better, working definition of concept of safety could be,
“A thing is safe (to a certain degree) with respect to a given person or group at a given time if, were they fully aware of its risks and expressing their most settled values, they would judge those risks to be acceptable (to that certain degree).” -Mike Martin and Roland Schinzinger
A thing is NOT SAFE if it exposes us to unacceptable danger or hazard
RISK is the potential that something unwanted and harmful may occur.
a. We take a risk when we undertake something or use a product that is not safe. Risk in technology could include dangers of
b. bodily harm,
c. economic loss, or
d. environmental degradation.
Some may assume that “safety” is a concrete concept, while “risk” is a vague, hypothetical concept
In fact, its the other way around
Risks always exist. But true safety never exists, except in hypothetical situations
So, risk is reality, safety is fantasy
