Plurk paste

Bruce Schneier’s argument that we prefer the feeling of security to security itself rests on a handful of mental mistakes that he thinks human beings make when they try to evaluate what’s risky and what’s safe. They include:

1) “We tend to exaggerate spectacular and rare risks and downplay common risks. So, flying versus driving.”
2) “The unknown is perceived to be riskier than the familiar. One example would be people fear kidnapping by strangers, when the data supports kidnapping by relatives is much more common.”
3) “Personified risks are perceived to be greater than anonymous risk. So Bin Laden is scarier because he has a name.”
4) “People underestimate risks in situations they do control and overestimate them in situations they don’t control. So once you take up skydiving or smoking, you downplay the risks. If a risk is thrust upon you — terrorism was a good example — you’ll overplay it, because you don’t feel like it’s in your control.”
5) “What newspapers do is they repeat again and again rare risks.I tell people, if it’s in the news, don’t worry about it. Because, by definition, news is something that almost never happens. When something is so common, it’s no longer news — car crashes, domestic violence — those are the risks you worry about.”