| August
6, 2008
Is It Really A Dangerous World?
Interview
with Daniel Gardner, author of
The Science of Fear |
Mike
Carruthers:
"We live in a dangerous world" - a lot
of people say that but the fact is…
Daniel
Gardner:
There have been spectacular declines in child mortality
rates - historically unprecedented. In fact it's no exaggeration to say we're
the healthiest and safest people who ever lived. Dan
Gardner, author of the book The
Science of Fear… We
tend to exaggerate the toll taken by dramatic, sensational, and catastrophic killers
and we tend to underestimate the toll taken by the un-dramatic and the un-catastrophic.
So, for example if you ask Americans about the relative toll taken by tornadoes
and asthma - they'll say that tornadoes kill more people than asthma. In fact
asthma kills twenty times more people than tornadoes. This
is partly the result of our exposure to the media; seldom will you see a story
on the nightly news about somebody killed by asthma. But you likely WILL see a
story if somebody is killed by a tornado. Of course there are dangers in today's
world like crime and terrorism but we need to keep it all in perspective. Diabetes
kills more Americans each year than terrorists have ever killed around the world
or ever will - these are the things that really take a massive toll. And as boring
as it may be, the best advice for those who want to increase their personal safety
is simply lead a healthier lifestyle.
At
somethingyoushouldknow.net I'm
Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.
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