When it comes to the world of banking, nobody seems to have any problem with redundancy. How else can you explain the fact that people routinely use their PIN number at the ATM machine? If you ask a linguist, he’ll boldly proclaim that redundancy should be avoided at all costs. But that’s not always true. Engineers demand a belt-and-suspenders approach when designing safety into passenger airplanes; it’s the primary reason why flying is the safest form of travel, including walking.
The bottom line: Redundant redundancy is redundant, but that’s not always a bad thing — especially when you’re flying at 37,000 feet.
Photo Credit: Public Domain
As someone who lives 9 miles as the crow flies from one, I hope the department of redundancy department was also at work that day when they designed this nuclear plant.
Well, they did, Bill. It’s still no guarantee, of course — but it’s not something I would lay awake at night worrying about. The odds of an accident on the level of Chernobyl or the recent one in Japan is extremely remote.
In fact, those who live downwind of a properly-operating coal-burning power plant are subjected to greater amounts of radiation than those who live downwind of a nuclear one. (Well, as long as it has it hasn’t suffered a meltdown due to the damage caused by an 8+ magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami, or some other fluke event).
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste
And if you live upwind of your nuclear plant, all the better.
I totally agree one hundred percent!
Well done, sir!
HIV virus. ABS system. ISBN number. UPC code. Please RSVP. But not PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) valve.
And my all-time favorite, DSW Discount Shoe Warehouse.
Those are good ones. How about these: tuna fish, kneel down, empty space, true fact …
37,000 ft? It’s important if your flying at 1000 ft too. Or 100 ft.
True. But I think your point is redundant.
That it is. That it is.
Sometimes I like redundancy. I like redundant deposits that go into my bank account. Redundant expenses… not so much! 🙂
Often hear the term: Hot water heater.
WHY would one need to heat hot water ?