Funky D. over at Ales Rarus has an interesting post titled "Tough Love." The post discusses the best way to change human behavior. Apparently, frightening and guilting people works better than reasoning with them. Duh! Jewish mothers everywhere are saying "See? I told you! But would you listen to your poor mother who gave birth to you? You're going to kill your poor old mother one of these days. I'll be gone and what will you do then?"
"Guilt and fear are wonderful," says the former paramedic who could manipulate anyone into doing something against their will using fear and guilt. "But if you really want to protect people who are too stupid to do things for their own good, you need idiot proofing."
Cars are a perfect example. When I was a child, cars were death traps. They had no seat belts. The passenger compartment crumpled to protect the engine compartment. People spoke of "getting thrown clear of an accident" as if it were a good thing. I remember sleeping up on the rear window ledge above the back seat. I look back on it and wonder "What the heck was I thinking?" Sure, I was only 2 or 3 years old at the time, but even then, I knew what sudden stops would do to toys. My Dad was an engineer. I'd like to think that he was thinking something along the lines of "Bobby's death will be quick if something happens and he's sleeping up there, instead of painful and lingering." My Dad's gone, and that's the only excuse I can come up with.
Seat belts were the first improvement. Then came crumple zones, improved brakes and steering, air bags, and a host of other smaller details. Cars became safer.
I remember when I started out as a First Responder (think of a first-aider riding on an ambulance) in 1985. Car accidents were incredibly destructive. I remember blood all over the place, broken limbs, people screaming in agony. It was great! By the end, most vehicular accidents were boring. People had to actively work at getting themselves seriously hurt. That guy that wrecked his 'Beemer on the Autobahn ato 150 kph? The guy that was sitting there in his seat, holding the steering wheel — and there was nothing else left of the car? There was not a scratch on that man. We only took him in the Rettungsdienstwagen to the hospital for appearance sake.
Now, some cars are being outfitted with side-curtain airbags. My favorite improvement is the Breathalyzer ignition interlock. Eventually, thanks to DARPA, humans won't even drive their cars — the cars will.
If you idiot proof something sufficiently, the ability of humans to harm themselves goes down.
I can't be the first person to think of an Identify Friend or Foe safety interlock on 28 gauge shotguns, can I? Who knows what bloggers would have had to discuss last week. It wouldn't have been Dick Cheney shooting a friend.
Some days, I hate that our planet is being turned into "Nerf World." But then I think that a new, fancy altimeter for my high power rocket will not only make the thing safer, but also increase the chances of me getting my $1000 rocket back in usable condition. A rail launch instead of the old launch lugs will prevent launch-rod tipoff and the rocket "land-sharking" through the bystanders. Computer software lets me analyze the flights ahead of time, picking the perfect motor and discovering any nasty surprises where the rocket changes it's CP and CG relationship as the fuel burns.
You know what? That's the amazing thing. I can safely fly rockets over a mile into the sky thanks to improved technology.
Nerf World increases my power, instead of taking it away.
Three cheers for Idiot Proofing!