The Real Story of Risk: Adventures in a Hazardous World
Almost everyone knows auto accidents kill far more people than airline crashes, yet the incidence of aerophobia (fear of flying) is disproportionately high. Likewise, fear of sharks still inspires the occasional toothsome Hollywood thriller decades after Jaws, despite the low number of attacks (only 25 Americans killed in 50 years). In dissecting risks such as the above, along with those associated with phenomena ranging from heart attacks to online gambling, Croston, a San Diego–based biotech research scientist, emphases that brute emotion usually trumps bare statistics when people weigh any given threat. Much of skewed risk perception dates back to our ancient ancestors and their adrenaline-fueled reactions to predators. Our brains simply haven’t caught up to such contemporary dangers as giving speeches and financial meltdowns. After examining our forebears’ influence, Croston analyzes why mankind is incongruously slow in addressing climate change and demonstrates how the pursuit of love and sex provoke extreme risk taking. Lucid and full of fascinating examples, Croston’s work sheds much-needed light on the psychological underpinnings of our contradictory attitudes toward danger. --Carl Hays