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I’ve become quite a fan of a show called “iDetective” on Court TV. Or is it “I Detective,” or perhaps “I-Detective”? The show’s very clever logo makes it
hard to tell. At first, I thought the “i” was the first-person pronoun. Then I thought the creators might be trying to weigh in on the “i-everything” fad in the technology
world, although that seemed unlikely. I finally decided that the “i” stood for “interactive,” as the program asks the viewer a series of questions about the clues in the
mystery show, and the viewer uses them (even if trying not to) as a measure of his or her detective skill. (I won’t tell you how well I did.) I eventually resolved the issue
by going to Court TV’s Web site and seeing the title written as “I, Detective” in text form — but then I wondered whether this was one mystery better left unsolved, especially
since I liked my answer better.
It was an odd replay of a recent situation where an acting secretary was taking minutes at our New England Chapter meeting. When we received the minutes of
the meeting, we saw that the volunteer had written the Society’s abbreviated name as “ISSS” consistently. He thought the actual name was the International System Safety
Society. Is it??? Although our first impulse was to correct him, inquiries have since uncovered some evidence that he might, in fact, be right! We have yet to prove the case
one way or the other — and when we do, we may have to face the fact that, whatever the truth may be, we each like our own answers better.
In the most recent print edition of JSS (May-June 2004), we included a reader survey — and, based on the responses we’ve received so far, a lot of people are
reading eJSS. This electronic edition of the Journal, although barely more than a year old, is viewed by interested professionals around the globe at the touch of a button. We
are an international Society, and nowhere is that more evident than here in the Journal. For this current issue, Charlie Hoes sent us his TBD column when he was halfway around
the world from his usual location, and he adds that unique perspective to his already expansive one. The author of one of our technical articles, Dr. Paul Ray, has system
safety credentials spanning two continents. The other technical article, by Scott Gunderson, focuses our attention on hazardous waste transportation, a problem of increasing
global concern. And, of course, this issue of the Journal is timed to coincide with the ISSC — the International System Safety Conference, the foremost event of its kind.
What does all this mean? Is that “i” really there, and if so, what does it stand for? The only thing for certain is that there should be many, many different
answers, and we should all be eager to listen to them. For my own part, I’ve decided that it stands for “individual,” and for each interested person’s contribution to the
global goal of system safety. As we each lend a voice and an ear to individual concerns, opinions, knowledge and expertise, we can expand that “i” all over the globe, making
it a safer place for us and for future generations.
And we come one step closer to getting all those answers right.
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