Thursday, July 27, 2006

Road Closed, Bridge Out

Suppose we're driving, and we approach a large barricade with a sign that says,

ROAD CLOSED
BRIDGE OUT

What is our standard of evidence to make a decision?

What if we've already driven past a ROAD CLOSED AHEAD warning sign every mile for the last 30 miles?

Driving off a cliff, pedal to the metal, just to confirm that the bridge really is gone and that 30 miles of warning signs really were there for a reason, that strikes me as unwise and unimpressive decision-making behavior.

That's not wisdom.

 

1 comment:

Darius said...

But if you hold "unflinchingly" and "unwaveringly" to an ideology that goes, "Bridges must always be open," then you just keep right on going. Of course this is a real disadvantage when you're leader of the "free" world, because it makes you stupider than a pigeon in a lab experiment that eventually learns not to peck on the buttons that give an electric shock. But that's what we've got...