small knowledge is dangerous
The world's longest snake, the reticulated python, is also part of the Pythonidae family. Yet he pointedly opposes broadly aimed disclosure requirements. Pertinent to the two cases above, for example, Sunstein, a law professor and head of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for several years during the Obama administration, argues that the affective or emotional impact of information should be included as a fundamental consideration in crafting government disclosure-of-information policies. Congress will not perform an unnatural act (i.e. On the lighter side, Sunstein discusses a response to a policy he implemented when working for the White House that, among other things, would require nutritional posting for popcorn in movie theatres. James R. Rogers is Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University and Contributing Editor at. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but no knowledge and wrong "knowledge" are still more dangerous. Are pythons venomous? Opulence and Dependency in a Democratic Age. But then as a young parent, a grandparent, a contributing member of society he learns again that Santa does exist, if perhaps not in the guise originally presented. Nonetheless, Sunstein seemingly would limit the crafting of disclosure policies to case-by-case, empirically rich cases. These are not the only instances of captive pythons attacking humans. Venomous snakes, on the other hand, kill their prey by biting and injecting venom through hollow fangs or teeth. “A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing” Perhaps, but then again, often times it is necessary to explore what differentiates places, persons, or things from one another that can lead to that little bit of knowledge that is key to getting to the heart of the matter. If you want to keep a member of the Pythonidae family as a pet, you might consider the more manageable ball python. But he dwells on understanding the reasons in cases in which disclosure either didn’t seem to work or produced unintended consequences, as those discussed above. Sunstein’s broad doubts and questions regarding mandatory disclosure policies are important in themselves. A Chinese family, with siblings and grandchildren scattered throughout the United States and Japan, learns that the family matriarch in China has lung cancer and has only a few months to live. And it is rather the strategic implications or consequences of such doctrine, on the public mood or public trust: For the public considers truth and transparency as merits per se. Sometimes it is useless. They are doubly notable, however, given his stature among the Democratic intellectual and governing elite. He again concludes skeptically, opining that “in many cases . This typically occurs when proper cleaning and handling procedures are neglected. At the level of policy-making, Sunstein discusses many disclosures that work. wedding definition: 1. a marriage ceremony and any celebrations such as a meal or a party that follow it: 2. a…. First, unless I missed a passing use of it, the phrase “rational ignorance” never appears in a book in which the concept of rational ignorance plays a central role. These terminological quibbles aside, Sunstein’s book provides a host of reasons to approach disclosure requirements skeptically. He even got me over and past the "mini-maxing behavior" in a way that made sense. Endless and complicated parameters can be put or implied here. Use caution when allowing children to handle a pet reptile, and make sure they wash their hands afterward. Due to their relatively small size (and the fact that they are non-venomous like all pythons), these snakes are not considered dangerous to humans… Law & Liberty’s focus is on the classical liberal tradition of law and political thought and how it shapes a society of free and responsible persons. They are constrictors. . For Facebook, people are concerned that they will miss out on something big if they quit Facebook. The book reads almost as though Sunstein started the book with one hypothesis in mind—that he would develop a framework that would help with developing sensible government disclosure policies going forward—but he instead became increasingly skeptical of his initial project as he worked through the research. Choose from the options below to download chemical tables related to the domestic and international shipping of dangerous goods. For example, warning labels on cigarettes. No framework for policy here, either. “A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing”. Sometimes it makes their decisions worse. © 2021 Liberty Fund, Inc. Download yours today! Over 100 pages of corn snake care advice, in e-book format. Reticulated pythons (arguably the most dangerous due to its size). The book reads almost as though Sunstein started the book with one hypothesis in mind—that he would develop a framework that would help with developing sensible government disclosure policies going forward—but he instead became increasingly skeptical of his initial project as he worked through the research. Also ensure your pet dog doesn’t have access to string wrappings around rolled roasts or absorbent pads found under meat when wrapped on trays. One half of the country believes the other half is dangerous because they posses said wrong knowledge. That is the task we face every time we approach an L&L essay, review, or podcast: is it going to be worth my time to engage with this information entity? The puzzle disappears, however, if we hypothesize that people were engaging in mini-maxing behavior. The primary dangerous substances found in diesel exhaust include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, and other hazardous gases. The risks are too high, especially when children or infants are brought into the equation. It merits stress that he does not provide a broadside against any and all disclosure requirements. Similarly, at the end of the very next chapter, Sunstein also concludes his discussion with a call for additional study: Further research is needed to gain a better understanding of when, why, and how disclosure requirements have intended or unintended consequences, as well as how policies can be improved. He was taken aback when a friend sent him an email with the subject line, “Sunstein Ruins Popcorn.” More seriously, Sunstein discusses false inferences that consumers sometimes draw from disclosures, resulting in worse decisions. Yet even if information were free, it didn’t seem as though more information would always weakly dominate less information. More broadly, however, against the view that more information always weakly dominates less information, Sunstein discusses the many different ways in which disclosing more information does not necessarily leave people better off. I am doing a school report on the different types of pythons, and whether or not they are dangerous is a big part of my report. Excellent post. Most people in cases like this are not attentive to finely changing probabilities or less-than-maximum losses. Keeping in mind that I don't see some of these animals as dangerous per se, but imagine if you had to make a list of the top 'dangerous' dog breeds, despite not believing any are dangerous, but some are clearly more 'demanding' than others. All rights reserved. If you would like to keep a member of the Pythonidae family as a pet, you might want to consider the following species: Reptile can pose a health threat in other ways as well. What information and what warnings should government disclose to the public, and why? To the contrary, it seems apparent that more information is often worse because it produces information overload, indifference to quality, a numbing of the capacity of discernment, and a dulling of the ability to distinguish good from bad information. All pythons are non-venomous, and most of them pose no threat to humans. Disclaimer: Large pythons can be dangerous to humans. They do not meet either of these definitions. It is dangerous to our country and more importantly in a personal sense; it is dangerous to our personal safety. ** Familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study: has great knowledge of these parts; has only limited knowledge of chemistry. Sunstein has probably never heard of Warren Meyer or his small businessman blog at www.coyoteblog.com. Lack of conformance to a particular sect’s doctrine, even in some rather small points, is enough to label one as an infidel, which is a capital crime. The first thing we need to do is distinguish between the terms "poisonous" and "venomous." They certainly can be! Here we have, in policy terms, novel or under -theorized doctrine indeed. 49CFR (Excel) This means they do not possess any venom that is harmful to humans. Photo by U.S. Geological Survey (. This site brings together serious debate, commentary, essays, book reviews, interviews, and educational material in a commitment to the first principles of law in a free society. For example, Sunstein devotes an entire chapter to this puzzle regarding people’s behavior toward Facebook: people report being happier when they quit Facebook, yet they continue on Facebook. The 2019 film The Farewell presents a more substantive, if contestable, counterexample. http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/07/02/child-dies-after-being-strangled-by-pet-python-in-florida/. Again, Sunstein invokes the underlying concept, but could have usefully drawn on the language to help organize parts of his argument. Sometimes it makes them miserable. We've answered this one. Your pup is your best friend, so naturally, you want to reward him or her for being so awesome. http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/06/world/americas/canada-snake-deaths/, In 2009, in Florida, a two-year-old girl was constricted and killed by an eight-foot-long Burmese python while sleeping in her crib. Thoughtful comment, properly appreciative of Rogers' considerable ability and of Sunstein's predictable limitations, as to which his self-demeaning service in the Obama Cause ( I think of Tuesday, November 4, 2008, as Bastille Day in America, the official birthday of the Revolutionary Democrat Party) is res ipsa loquitur.