Re: The opinions expressed are strictly mine

[Al Tschaeche <antatnsu@pacbell.net>]

"D. Kosloff" wrote:

> No human activity or inactivity is safe.

> What you say is true.  However, in general, when a human asks, "Is something
> safe?" and the answer is, "Yes," it ususally means to both the speaker and
> the listener that the "something" is OK to do without the expectation of
> significant harm.  If someone asks, "Is nuclear power safe," I answer,
> "Yes," knowing full well about all the accidents and incidents that have
> occurred since radioactivity and radiation were discovered more than 100
> years ago.  Many other people would disagree with me.  However, I am aware
> of the popular conotation of the word "safe."  Safe relative to what?  You
> are talking about absolute safety.  True, nothing is absolutely safe, but
> current usage is as I said above.  So, we need to say nuclear power and
> other things nuclear are safe, and, as John Auxier says, "Wait for the next
> question (if there is one)."  Unless, of course, one doesn't believe that.
> And, one needs to be careful that the listener doesn't assume you mean
> absolute safety.  If (s)he does, the discussion must go further.  Al
> Tschaeche antatnsu@pacbell.net
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