A Measure of Caution

As a child, I recall exercising a great deal of caution in many arbitrary aspects of my life, mainly due to fears that, while logical at the time, seem completely irrational to me now. When visiting an amusement park with my family, I often evaded attractions that weren't entirely visible to me from the cue line (after all, I had no idea what happened to that ride cart when it entered the tunnel!), and before viewing any movie, I would extensively watch trailers and read reviews to ensure that I wouldn't be surprised by any loud moments of sudden action. Now, as a fan of both action movies and rollercoasters, when I look back at my childhood self, I find it comical that I used to be so concerned about those things. But the reality is that while the subjects of my hesitation may have changed, my apprehension towards diving into anything I lack information about has been steadfast.

However, I hardly think I am alone in harboring this mindset. Sure, there are some people that are comfortable enough with risk that they're willing to raise their hands in class before a teacher has even finished asking a question, but the majority of us require more knowledge before we are willing to put ourselves out there. And while in many instances, this attitude can lead to limitations - some of the best experiences come from stepping outside of our comfort zones - maybe it is with good reason that we have certain information requirements that must be met in order for us to accept risk.

In "A Measure of Restraint," Chet Raymo discusses various stories that "illustrate the risks that are sometimes imposed by knowledge." While the piece is brimming with irony, what I found to be most captivating was the fact that in instances like Marie Curie's, it was not necessarily her pursuit of knowledge that led to her demise, but that fact that she didn't pursue enough knowledge. As soon as it was discovered "that radium killed bacteria," "a thousand and one uses were proposed for the material," inspiring a "radium craze" that caused a number of deaths before "the physiological hazards of radioactivity were [finally] recognized" in 1930. Maybe the Curies' initial desire for discovery was partly responsible, but it seems to me that the "reckless misuse of radium" could have been avoided if the same caution and need for information that we apply in much of our lives had been present in this story. So in spite of its hindrances, perhaps the doubt we exercise when weighing risk simply stems from a place of preservation and is not something we should try so hard to force ourselves to depart from.