I got to apply this principle in life a few days ago!
A friend of mine joked about the lack of female scientists.
I jokingly protested the case of Madam Curie.
He accused her of being over-hyped, because, after all, she foolishly went and got herself exposed to dangerous radiation.
Ah, but she knew not, I noted.
But she should have known better than to fiddle carelessly with the unknown, he responded.
And immediately leapt into my mind the explanation that to apply such a policy before hand would have required an equal defense against all possible unknown dangers, a prohibitively costly policy.
To his credit, he asked for the technical explanation, accepted its good sense, and explained that he hadn’t really meant any of it in the first place.
I got to apply this principle in life a few days ago!
A friend of mine joked about the lack of female scientists. I jokingly protested the case of Madam Curie. He accused her of being over-hyped, because, after all, she foolishly went and got herself exposed to dangerous radiation. Ah, but she knew not, I noted. But she should have known better than to fiddle carelessly with the unknown, he responded.
And immediately leapt into my mind the explanation that to apply such a policy before hand would have required an equal defense against all possible unknown dangers, a prohibitively costly policy.
To his credit, he asked for the technical explanation, accepted its good sense, and explained that he hadn’t really meant any of it in the first place.
Viva la racionalidad!