The engineer as rational man: the problem of imminent danger in a non-rational environment

US government and industry attitudes toward mine safety and health, articulated in the instruction manuals and training guides published by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, are seen to reflect an engineering perspective based on the concept of a rational man, a perspective that undermines the ability of miners to take responsibility for their own education and ultimately obstructs effective risk management and assessment in the nation´s mines. It is argued that to improve miner training and education, technical communicators must understand how underlying gendered assumptions about male rationality influence the construction of knowledge in a large government agency