Jack Yesner Week 17- The Perception of Safety
As war in Ukraine presses on for the second week, tensions continue to rise. On February 27, Russia put their nuclear arsenal on high alert, renewing Cold War fears of nuclear war. While United States President Joe Biden affirmed on February 28 that the US would not increase their own alert levels, it is still a major cause for concern that nuclear war is not implausible.
Whenever the topic of nuclear war is discussed, I usually hear the same recurring story. Typically, an older American would share their experiences of when they lived through the nuclear crisis in the Cold War. They would describe a bomb siren sounding and rushing to hide themselves underneath their desks. Then, they would describe how scared they were and how thankful they were that a nuclear war did not occur. Finally, they would comment that if a nuclear bomb were to actually explode, their hiding protocol likely would have had no effect.
What is the benefit of hiding under a desk when it won’t actually provide assistance in any way? Why do we engage in some safety protocols that don’t actually assist us, and in some instances, may actually threaten our safety? Sure, earthquake and lockdown drills can add safety, but what about the disastrous protocols of the school fire drill, where students are instructed to calmly and slowly walk down a narrow staircase and stand on a (flammable) grass field? The old protocol even made students stand between two highly explosive gasoline cars! Additionally, every single fire drill starts at precisely the same time, so there is very little correlation with what an actual fire might feel like. Surely this procedure could not cause lives to be saved. In the case of a real fire, the plan would likely fall by the wayside and the school would devolve into utter chaos.
One possible explanation for the prevalence of these ineffective drills could be the placebo effect. The placebo effect is a centuries-old technique in which an ineffective remedy is administered, and while there is no physical benefit to the remedy, the mind believes that the remedy is working and repairs itself. Placebos are present in many areas of society, including scientific experiments, psychology, and childcare. The placebo effect could be the reason for these drills, as the repeated idea that the drill saves lives may calm the mind and reduce panic, even though the drills themselves do not have an effect. However, the true origin and implementation of these procedures cannot be fully determined as the creators of the drills may have truly thought the practice would save lives.
In your opinion, which safety procedures save lives and which do not? For the procedures that don’t save lives, do you think they cause a positive impact with the placebo effect?
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