Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The basic relational patterns developed in tribes are still the foun-
dations of present social behavior.
We automatically learn a lot from group members, and the small
intimate group (in-group) is the best place to gain understanding
of safety issues.
The modern brain is involved in reasoning and planning, the more
technical risk assessment.
This part of the brain can define a strategy and act according to
it.
The modern brain can understand possible risks in a plan or
project.
Risks are calculated and taken whenever needed. Survivors man-
age equilibrium on the risk spectrum.
Males learned to engage in more dangerous situations; females
have higher sensitivity to possible dangers.
The modern brain is not programmed to avoid risks at all costs.
Safety management needs to compensate for this.
The modern brain likes to build in a safety margin.
We can more easily estimate the risks someone else might
encounter compared to the risks we might encounter.
The brain is fully equipped to handle dangers, although the dangers
of today are completely different from the dangers of a few thou-
sand years ago.
We all have a complete infrastructure for detecting and handling
risks, but our innate programs are not adjusted to the present risks.
Risk sensitivity needs to be programmed, both in the domestic and
work environments. Without this programming, we have no alerts
for risky situations.
The task of parents is to raise their children in such a way that they
learn to estimate the real dangers of living in this new society. The
same can be said for employers. They also have the task of training
their employees to discover and handle the dangers involved in
working.
We have to realize that although we think we are conscious beings,
we are in fact acting mostly on a nonconscious level. Safety manage-
ment becomes effective if we are able to influence our nonconscious
processes.
