Catsense (TM): "Because you only have one life to live .... "

 

Would you buy risk management products from this character?

It has been apparent to me for a long time that we have been failing to get people to deal sensibly with the risk of nuclear weapons harm. It's a kind of risk that is at the edge of what we humans are capable of grasping, mathematically ... and ... people don't want to think about it ... but it must also be admitted: we somehow haven't cracked the code on getting people to do what they are able to do!

Now, some have argued that our major weakness to date has been the absence of a suitable spokescat. There was a time when I simply didn't believe this, but I have at last taken this point of view to heart, and after a long series of interviews above have arrived at a provisional arrangement for representation with the feline pictured above.

The problem with getting into bed (so to speak) with a cat is that you can't avoid being subjected to their opinions. This particular cat -- who began referring to himself as "Nine" after viewing a popular series on Netflix -- has many opinions.

Before I had known Nine for very long, Nine began insisting that even if people aren't thinking about the risk of nuclear weapons harm, they are all acting on it. "Consciously or unconsciously, everyone is making a bet on whether they are placing themselves in harm's way," Nine says.

"That's ridiculous," I said to Nine, when Nine first suggested this to me. "The problem is that people don't know enough about the dangers."

"Au contraire," Nine replied. "No one doesn't know about the nuclear arsenals that the US and Russia (and a few other countries) have aimed at each other. Every school kid reads Hiroshima . . . ."

"But if that's true," I said, "how come they're not all working for nuclear disarmament?"

"Because they've placed a different bet," said Nine. "For every one person who's placed a bet on their personal ability to save the world by bringing about nuclear disarmament, millions have place a bet on spending as many of their days as they possibly can as far from trouble as they can get."

"You mean like somebody living in Arkansas with a fallout shelter in the backyard?"

"Well, far away from the National Command Center as possible, anyway?"

"National Command Center?"

"That's Washington, DC, to you."

"Okay, that's just crazy, because then how do you explain all the people who do choose to live and work in Washington, DC?"

"Look" said Nine, "there are all kinds of bets . . . . "

I must have looked glum, because then Nine said, "Hey, cheer up! The important thing, as far as you're concerned, is that whenever there are people making bets, at least some of them will be looking for ways to hedge their bets!"

"What are you talking about?" I said.

"Well . . . ," Nine continued, "I haven't worked out all the details, but there have got to be some ways to help people hedge the risk that they've exposed themselves to by living in a place that's economically robust but too dangerous ... or by living in a place that is safe but too remote. I've already got a name -- Catsense (TM) -- and a slogan: "Because you only have one life to live .... " 

To be continued . . . . 

 

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