How to Worry in Moderation

Abstract

“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” This divine prohibition issued in the second chapter of the first book of Moses in King James’ authorized version of the Bible had already been broken in the midst of its third chapter by the first humans, and they were consequently driven out from the earthly paradise. In the Grecian myth, Prometheus was cruelly punished because he had provided humans with the power to create fire, thereby providing them with the means to build up a technologically based civilization (Figure 19.1). Juxtaposed, these old accounts explain why it is necessary to assess potential risks within the context of technological systems. The very act of living is literally dangerous, and anyone who seeks new and untested knowledge must be prepared to take grave risks.