Risk Tal Levran

Risk is something we are all faced with every moment of our lives. The actions we take can either reduce or increase risk, but can never eliminate it. Therefore risk assessment is an important ability to have. It is an ability imbedded into our brain, an almost instinctive function, that proved essential to our ancestors well being. However, it seems as though this instinctive function hasn’t adapted that well to modern threats. Risk assessment in people nowadays is almost ridiculously out of sync. Our brains have not had enough time to evolve in response to the media, statistics and politicians.

Have you ever wondered why people and animals alike stop and stare at fast approaching objects? It’s because in ancestral times, standing still reduced a predator’s ability to see you. Your chances of being captured were lessened when you were still, which meant the risk was reduced. Your brain assessed the risk and told your body what to do. However, nowadays when a car is speeding toward your, standing still isn’t your best bet. However, your risk assessments are a direct result of your environment. The more you see or hear about something, the higher you assess its risk to be. This is where the media comes into play.

The media tends to cover unusual events, and show them over and over again. When a plane crashes, it’s sure to be all over TV, but if a cars crash all the time and usually don’t get mentioned. Because of this however, many people are more scared of flying than driving. However, flying is the safest way to travel, especially compared to driving. The chance of dying as a result of an automobile accident to 1 in 5000, while the chance of dying in an aircraft accident is 1 in 11 million.

There is a higher risk in driving to the airport than in getting on a plane itself. This example shows how our modern environment, influenced by the media, causes us to incorrectly assess risks.

I think this is a very interesting topic. I know of many examples in which people are more scared of things with a lower risk compared to things with a higher risk. I also believe that the media plays an important role in all this. Since the media most focus on the things that will grab our attention most, and therefore be most profitable for them, most everyday dangers are overlooked. One example of this is mad cow disease and the bird flu. These are things that the media covers extensively. However which do you think has killed more Americans? In fact, no Americans have been killed by either. You have a much higher chance of dying from falling out of bed, then from either of these diseases. I think in order to be safe and realistic, a person has to find out the actual statistics of something happening, as opposed to just believing whatever the media says.

References:

1. http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=20071228-000005&page=1

2. http://www.flychrysler.com/siteart/plane.jpg