#davesdailychallenge (147): Risk. According to the National Safety Council, in 2015 there were 38,300 auto fatalities and 4,400,000 people severely injured. Most people will read this and not bat an eye. I didn’t. Why is this true? Why is it also true that a few months ago when someone was killed in an autonomous vehicle accident that people lost their collective minds? What is different? Is it somehow ok for human beings to die in auto accidents at the numbers we’re seeing but somehow not ok for just one to die in the development of autonomous vehicle driving technology? The answer is no. It’s never “ok” for a human being to die in an auto accident but what it, especially when discussing the current norm on our roads where humans make all the decisions, is expected. We have become extraordinarily accustomed to hearing and seeing death in relation to vehicles. The reason why people were so collectively angry and/or appalled when the first fatality in an autonomous vehicle was reported was the opposite of the aforementioned fact. It was not expected. This fact takes on special meaning this morning as the report from Cape Canaveral and the explosion of the SpaceX rocket and satellite reaches our awareness. Thankfully no people were killed in the rocket explosion but we must remind ourselves of one very important point. In any great endeavor there is risk. As we advance new technologies, push the limits of our understanding and capabilities, and reach out to once again explore the stars there is going to be untold risk. We can only mitigate so much. There will come a time, and I assure you this applies to you, that we will need to accept the risk in front of us and push forward anyway. Sometimes it is worth the risk to dare greatly. No one wants another human being to die in the pursuit of great advancements but if you want to witness the appetite for this risk that so many of us have you need to look no further than the waiting list for autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles. You need to only look at the sign-up lists for future one-way trips to Mars. You need to only look at our history. Our country has been filled with those that have the courage to take the necessary risk to push us forward. Some died for this advancement and we owe it to them to not shy away from the necessary risk they spent so much of themselves for. Moonshots are worth it so when in doubt put on your adult pants and go for it.