3 ms·
> It’s possible to discover what works without knowing why it works, and then to put that insight to use immediately, assuming that the underlying mechanism wil
by AllegedAlec 7y ago
> It’s possible to discover what works without knowing why it works, and then to put that insight to use immediately, assuming that the underlying mechanism will be figured out later.
Asbestos was a remarkable flame-retardant material. However, putting it to use as widely as we have was probably a mistake.
- chc 7y agoThat's a bit of a different thing. In that case, the problem was not a lack of understanding of how asbestos works (it's not like people got sick from excessive fire resistance). We just didn't consider that particles would be inhaled, and what would happen when they were. The asbestos sort of danger is much more insidious and omnipresent. You have to not only know that your use is safe, but consider everything that could happen to it on the molecular level and that all the consequences of all those things are safe.