This might not be enough in practice for everything. Talking to an actual person who lived through X, and why they made the decisions they did, might be necessary. (As someone who doesn’t appreciate everything turning into a podcast instead of being text, I’m not the biggest fan of this. That said, I think it’s getting cheaper to video record everything (though liability/stuff that operates via the same mechanisms might work against this). Condensing and summarizing lots of video takes work, but can sometimes lead to new insight. (As can asking experts.)
Also, we should pre-commit to deferring to our emergency plans when emergencies actually occur. What good is a well-researched carefully-planned protocol if half the population is thinking “well… that’s kind of inconvenient. What if I just don’t?” We need regulations “with teeth” in place before the emergency just like we need good contingency plans to follow in the first place.
An other approach is get people to come to an agreement. This may take time, but if the emergency doesn’t happen often, you may have time. (Those involved in resolving the agreement may wish there weren’t so much time.)
Also, this might be something already addressed but—disaster plans might have to change when another disaster occurs in the middle of that other one, if there aren’t already plans for that. For example, people might stop committing crimes during natural disasters, but viruses probably won’t go on vacation.
Talking to an actual person who lived through X, and why they made the decisions they did, might be necessary.
Sounds good! Add all the interviews to the report. The more original sources we can collect in the moment when we feel the need to create an institution, the more people will eventually have to go on when they’re making decisions about these institutions in the distant future.
An other approach is get people to come to an agreement.
Yes; and in the generational timescales we sometimes get to work with between certain emergencies I think this can be solved by education. At least the fundamentals need to be absorbed into the culture in some way.
disaster plans might have to change when another disaster occurs in the middle of that other one, if there aren’t already plans for that
I hope we have enough time between instances of the same kind of emergency to think of those contingencies too. Ideally, our emergency-preparedness institutions should all be able to talk to each other and coordinate their plans together.
This might not be enough in practice for everything. Talking to an actual person who lived through X, and why they made the decisions they did, might be necessary. (As someone who doesn’t appreciate everything turning into a podcast instead of being text, I’m not the biggest fan of this. That said, I think it’s getting cheaper to video record everything (though liability/stuff that operates via the same mechanisms might work against this). Condensing and summarizing lots of video takes work, but can sometimes lead to new insight. (As can asking experts.)
An other approach is get people to come to an agreement. This may take time, but if the emergency doesn’t happen often, you may have time. (Those involved in resolving the agreement may wish there weren’t so much time.)
Also, this might be something already addressed but—disaster plans might have to change when another disaster occurs in the middle of that other one, if there aren’t already plans for that. For example, people might stop committing crimes during natural disasters, but viruses probably won’t go on vacation.
Sounds good! Add all the interviews to the report. The more original sources we can collect in the moment when we feel the need to create an institution, the more people will eventually have to go on when they’re making decisions about these institutions in the distant future.
Yes; and in the generational timescales we sometimes get to work with between certain emergencies I think this can be solved by education. At least the fundamentals need to be absorbed into the culture in some way.
I hope we have enough time between instances of the same kind of emergency to think of those contingencies too. Ideally, our emergency-preparedness institutions should all be able to talk to each other and coordinate their plans together.