Submitted by Skywatcher on October 9, 2007 - 6:43pm.
The only problem with the arguement is that the same arguement could be made about any number of potential global catastrophies from a pure logic perspective. Asteroids hitting the earth, aliens attacking, Judgement from god. Using the same purely logical argument there are all sorts of things we should be lobbying for. The missing piece is the likelihood of the catasrophy actually occurring and that's why the debate over Global Climate Change is an important one. Risk management is not a row only or column only thought process. Here's an example:
There is a finite real chance that a plane will fall from the sky and land on my house which would be catastrophic. The argument in the video would lead me to believe the only logical course of action would be to build a plane proof structure around my house to prevent this risk and the consequences but I choose to accept the risk because the cost is too high and the likelihood too low.
Likewise we need to understand the potential for the risk before we make risk management decisions. Just some perspective on fuzzy logic decisions.
Re: Is this the most terrifying video you'll ever see?
The only problem with the arguement is that the same arguement could be made about any number of potential global catastrophies from a pure logic perspective. Asteroids hitting the earth, aliens attacking, Judgement from god. Using the same purely logical argument there are all sorts of things we should be lobbying for. The missing piece is the likelihood of the catasrophy actually occurring and that's why the debate over Global Climate Change is an important one. Risk management is not a row only or column only thought process. Here's an example:
There is a finite real chance that a plane will fall from the sky and land on my house which would be catastrophic. The argument in the video would lead me to believe the only logical course of action would be to build a plane proof structure around my house to prevent this risk and the consequences but I choose to accept the risk because the cost is too high and the likelihood too low.
Likewise we need to understand the potential for the risk before we make risk management decisions. Just some perspective on fuzzy logic decisions.