Physics is precise. You know (I'm making this up, now, so don't laugh!) exactly how many foot-pounds of thrust it will take to propel a rocket of x tons into an orbit of y miles. Nice. Clean. Accurate.
Ethics, on the other hand, is not. Human judgment is involved in ethics, as are the differing perspectives that are provided by different points of view. That's why you have to admire Dave Weinberger's piece this morning on some ethical complexities he's recently encountered. Contrast that willingness with this.
Forget about what you think of Dave's decision not to blog the story he describes. Focus instead on his willingness to reveal the thinking (and re-thinking) behind that decision.
Because we're human, we will come to different ethical decisions. Unlike physicists, we're not operating in a domain that affords us the luxury of precise measurement. Affording others the opportunity to understand the reasoning behind a decision is key to developing trust. Today, Dave's done that, again, for me.



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