Interesting NYT article on the "safety myth" promoted by Japan's nuclear industry
An article in today’s New York Times discusses the “safety myth” promoted by Japan’s nuclear industry and the effect of that myth on the country’s ability to respond to the Fukushima accidents when they occurred. It’s a fascinating cautionary tale of what can happen when fallible humans interact with unforgiving technology. And it shows how people and institutions create myths about technology that can lead to unintended consequences. Finally, it illustrates that technology and culture interact in complex and unpredictable ways (a lesson that is not a surprise to those who study the history of technology, but it’s a fact not as widely accepted in the hard-core technical community). All in all, a great read for students of these issues.
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