By Dr Nippin Anand

Images reveal the limits of our imagination. Images reveal so much about our undeclared beliefs, assumptions, values, beliefs and cultural worldviews.

Long before human beings could write or read, we were communicating through images. Even today, children learn doodling and drawing much before they start writing text. Some linguists and archeologists even claim that images guide our language development.

I often hear expressions within the safety industry such as care, listening, understanding, empathy, compassion, ethics and even people.

I then look at the images and here’s what I see:
➡️ Measurement
➡️ Hazards
➡️ Objects
➡️ A group of people facing camera
➡️ One person is talking and everyone is listening

What I rarely notice:
✴️ A person caring for another person
✴️ Two persons having a conversation
✴️ An expert is listening to another person

If images hold the power to reveal our (undeclared) beliefs, what does this tell us about the Culture of an entire industry?

Don’t take my word. Observe a few books, articles, presentations, podcasts, and websites on Safety. What do you notice?

About the picture below: These images came from the home page of the UK’s National Health Services and the Health and Safety Executive.