Rethinking Risk in Extreme Environments

Scott Parazynski, M.D., is the only astronaut to have summited Mt. Everest. His career in the space program and taste for adventure have taught him a few things about managing risk, a subject he lectured on at the 2017 Hinman Dental Meeting. In this clip, Parazynski, who is also the CEO of Fluidity Technologies, explains how risky environments have taught him about risk management.

Interview Transcript (Modified Slightly for Readability)

“Going into extreme environments forces you to think about risk in a different way. People oftentimes look at my career as being highly risky. However, I don’t consider myself a risk-taker. I very much consider myself a risk manager. Understanding the challenges out in an environment, trying to mitigate those risks the best I can with training, with equipment, with a good selection of my teammates, using technology to our advantage to improve the outcomes. It’s worked really quite well, taking me to space, to the top of Mt. Everest, deep in our oceans, and it’s been a wonderful career. It’s also been a wonderful catalyst for innovation, using extraordinary environments as a source of inspiration for developing new technologies.”

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