NAVIGATING IGNORANCE

For a split second, this upside down sign tricked my eye into thinking the speed limit was 52. A split second is all it takes for a catastrophe. Whether it’s running a red light or removing the wrong organ in surgery, we all slip up. Even worse, the more experienced we are at something, the more likely we are to make mistakes. We get so used to doing it that we don’t even think about what we’re doing. It’s called “expert blindness.”

In 1709, Alexander Pope wrote, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” Apparently, so is alot of knowledge. It’s a reminder to stop ourselves from thinking we know what we don’t. Science and technology simply change too fast. When cruise control became popular in cars, I never used it for fear I would get complacent. I don’t want my car driving me, any more than I want a robot companion. It’s one thing if a person goes off the rails and quite another if a machine does, as it did here.

These three historical events share one, common thread:

1. The Air France crash in 2009 which plunged the 747 jet into the ocean and killed 200 people.

2. Manhattan Project physicist, Louis Slotin, while demonstrating a plutonium experiment, accidentally dropped a screwdriver into a beaker which released enough radiation to kill him 9 days later.

3. Benjamin Franklin lost his son to smallpox despite access to the vaccine.

All three, highly-experienced men became overconfident in a moment of crisis. The pilot was so accustomed to flying on automatic pilot that when the plane stalled and he had to take over the controls, he forgot his training. The physicist had performed this particular demonstration so often that he let his guard down. The brilliant inventor who knew well the importance of vaccines, neglected to vaccinate his own son.

Research suggests we spend half of our days doing things routinely. This isn’t just brushing our teeth or driving, but happens in the workplace, too. So, put yourself wholly in the moment. Really smell the coffee. Savor the taste of that kiss. Look at an old friend with fresh eyes. Turn off your cruise control. Press down on the gas. Feel the car accelerate underneath you. There is no greater rush than the real thing.