Verification vs. Worry
When something matters, I don’t “worry” about it; I verify it.
Take children’s nutrition as an example. It’s common to say: “I give them healthy food; it does no good to worry.” But nutrition isn’t about reassurance; it’s about biology. A growing child either did or did not receive the molecules they need — protein, iron, iodine, DHA — and outcomes depend on that fact.
My approach is simple:
- Identify the requirement (the molecule is biologically necessary).
- Confirm its presence (the child consumed it in a usable form).
- Build a consistent system (so that over days and weeks, the requirement is reliably met).
Once those steps are in place, I don’t dwell on it. The system is doing the work, so the mind is free for other challenges.
This same habit guides how I approach complex systems in science, regulation, and technology. I don’t try to suppress uncertainty; I track it, test it, and reduce it to verifiable structures. That way, remaining risks remain visible, but they don’t dominate attention.
It isn’t worry; it is acting in response to biological truth.