Mad Science

Theo Gray has a great essay up on the dangers we willingly accept for our children and the dangers we don't. Of course, in future years, I imagine the subset of parents who are unwilling to have their children take any risk will get larger. Being somewhat risk-prone, (or as it was once described, being "prone to be where accidents are prone to happen"), I don't have a whole lot of use for the safety-first mindset that is silently creeping throughout our culture. I especially don't have any use for it when it's going to have disastrous long-term consequences, as Mr. Gray points out.

By removing all risk, you end up with a class of people who are unable to judge risk and are therefore incapable of dealing with it. Fine when you need accountants and actuaries, I suppose, but less so when you want people to push forward the frontiers of human endeavor.

Anyhow, he also wrote a book. You might buy it, especially if you have children and you'd like to do some science with them.