Energy Institute Guidelines to 'Ex' Inspections: A Polemical Critique

摘要

I have made the point elsewhere [I] that we should'... not fall into the trap of assuming that a logical proposition is necessarily a sensible one - which is itself an error in logic! Careful consideration of the starting point and the explicit and implicit assumptions being made may reveal that a logical conclusion may be far from sensible. Unfortunately some standards themselves suffer from this same condition; logical but not sensible. I can see how this comes about; you start with a simple premise and build logically, each step, each additional principal and consideration flowing inexorably, indisputably from there. The final structure is entirely self consistent and rigorous, but somewhere along the way it becomes so very much more than simply fit-for-purpose. You start with a brick and end up with a cathedral, when what you really needed was a small extension... there is a need for standards committees to look back to the starting point and consider where logic has carried them and whether the position remains sensible in terms of the ultimate objective of the mission. I do not suggest there is any conspiracy here, but there is a potential for experts to become seduced by their own expertise and to pursue excellence or refinement for its own sake or in competition with one another. There are also those that have a vested interest in elaboration, who look to become the new priesthood with exclusive rights to the performance of rituals.'