At the supermarket last week I picked up a copy of Time magazine for its cover story: Why We Worry About the Wrong Things, The Psychology of Risk, by Jeffrey Kluger. It’s an engaging but typically superficial article describing how people pay attention to certain potential risks while ignoring many more serious threats to their longevity and well-being. Describing our worries over hypothetical risks such as bird flu, mad cow, Muslim Imams, and contaminated lettuce, Kluger comments, "At the same time, 20% of all adults still smoke; nearly 20% of drivers and more than 30% of backseat passengers don’t use seat belts; two-thirds of us are overweight or obese." These are far more real risks that we have real control over, compared to the many threats that get public attention.
Related to your earlier post on "Future Selves," the Time cover story also discussed why people have difficulty with intertemporal trade-offs ..
[... there's the irrational way we react to risky behavior that also confers some benefit. It would be a lot easier to acknowledge the perils of smoking cigarettes or eating too much ice cream if they weren't such pleasures. Drinking too much confers certain benefits too, as do risky sex, recreational drugs and uncounted other indulgences. This is especially true since, in most cases, the gratification is immediate and the penalty, if it comes at all, comes later. With enough time and enough temptation, we can talk ourselves into ignoring almost any long-term costs. "These things are fun or hip, even if they can be lethal," says Ropeik. "And that pleasure is a benefit we weigh."]
Related to your earlier post on "Future Selves," the Time cover story also discussed why people have difficulty with intertemporal trade-offs ..
[... there's the irrational way we react to risky behavior that also confers some benefit. It would be a lot easier to acknowledge the perils of smoking cigarettes or eating too much ice cream if they weren't such pleasures. Drinking too much confers certain benefits too, as do risky sex, recreational drugs and uncounted other indulgences. This is especially true since, in most cases, the gratification is immediate and the penalty, if it comes at all, comes later. With enough time and enough temptation, we can talk ourselves into ignoring almost any long-term costs. "These things are fun or hip, even if they can be lethal," says Ropeik. "And that pleasure is a benefit we weigh."]