Out of Our Depth

The Titan incident has spawned a fascinating variety of responses from an unusual variety of people. From people on social media openly mocking those who have died, to Matt Walsh lauding the Titan five as the ilk of renown historical adventurers and explorers, to James Cameron's objective and technical critique of the sub design, there just seems to be a strange quality to the entire episode. It's fascinating in what it highlights about current sensibilities.

I have great sympathy for the families of the dead, and no ill will for the dead themselves, for the most part. I have great contempt for the OceanGate CEO, who was clearly a man of staggering hubris and foolishness. Though it ultimately cost him his life, the consequences of it were not limited to him. The unfortunate thing is that his mindset is becoming more common in the world, and we are confronted here with the fact that the scientific world isn't immune.

Reality doesn't bow to ideology in the physical systems used by mankind. Science demands respect. It is unforgiving and unmalleable. It will kill if wielded irresponsibly, on any scale imaginable. There are reasons that real science is built on a foundation of science, layer by layer, in a progression as old as human civilization. Rejecting the lessons of past experience in dangerous endeavors is the act of fools. It is also a trend.

We live in a time of astounding hubris. It goes far beyond science. Across the board, we reject the constancy of human nature and declare every step of those who went before "outdated". We replace experience with conviction and self declared virtue. We devalue the life lessons and expertise of the experienced still among us. We push mature, proven, technologies aside to make a space to "create". And people die. Unnecessarily.

There is a science to safety. Ensuring it requires testing and validation, just like any STEM development requires testing and validation. Rejecting previously tested and proven safety methods, processes, and systems, is dangerous. Whether it's creating a completely new materials approach to designing deep sea vehicles, or lowering the requirements for safety critical jobs (like pilots) to change corporate social score ratings, or adopting a new vaccine technology and administering it on a global scale without long term testing, or modifying viruses and bacteria without adequate safeguards, it's dangerous.

We will get away with it sometimes. Getting away with something doesn't mean it's not dangerous. People are dabbling with seriously dangerous things in our modern world. Maintaining respect for the engineers and scientists who charted the course through scientific history is important for keeping us safe. There is no controlling authority in the middle of the ocean who will keep your sub design safe, or your bio lab. Safety has to be in the heart and mind of everyone who works in a dangerous field.

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