NationStates Jolt Archive

It's much less likely to crash with a plane than to have a car accident.
Nevertheless much more people feel safer in a car...
How many people have died in terror attacks in the Western World in the last few years? I dont have exact figures about that, but as a cause of death its clearly behind deseases, accidents, bad diet etc.
Nevertheless wars are fought, billions are spent and privacy and basic rights are infringed upon in the name of counterterrorism.
I guess there are many other examples.

Why do you think our fears are so irrational (do you think they are?)? I simply dont know...

I have a fear of pi. It is irrational.

We fear the unknown. Hence why we feel safe in the familiar car but unsafe in the still compariatively unusual environment of a plane, and worry about the big, out of the ordinary terrorist attacks but not everyday diseases.

Tluikorap;11752083']
Why do you think our fears are so irrational (do you think they are?)? I simply dont know...

All fear is irrational.

All fear is irrational.

You now have 16, 666 posts. You should create a new account just to preserve this amusing number.


EDIT:Nevermind, you posted before I could.

All fear is irrational.

Fear of penguins isn't.

fear of air planes is not irrational. think about it. how many people survive plane crashes? how many people survive car crashes? sure, the absolute figure for car related fatalities is greater than plane related fatalities, but plane crashes are so final; there is basically no hope for survival. thats very frightening.

same thing goes for terrorism vs. diseases. diseases can be overcome. you see it happen all the time. and on top of that there is no malicious or evil intent behind a disease. it just happens. terrorism is evil and its goal is to cause death. and, unfortunately, when terrorists try to take a life they generally succeed.

You now have 16, 666 posts. You should create a new account just to preserve this amusing number.


EDIT:Nevermind, you posted before I could.

Oh damn ... guess I could go delete some old posts. Hehe

If by irrational, you mean that its an emotion and not a result of reason, then yes, but fear isn't a bad thing. It informs us of that which we wish to avoid, and alerts us to danger. However, fear of that which is impossibly remote and beyond our control is a hurtful thing.

fear of air planes is not irrational. think about it. how many people survive plane crashes? how many people survive car crashes? sure, the absolute figure for car related fatalities is greater than plane related fatalities, but plane crashes are so final; there is basically no hope for survival. thats very frightening.

Death sure beats the hell out of painful skin grafts and surgeries after breaking nearly all of your bones and getting burns over 40-60% of your body.

I'll take death any day of the week given that choice.

If by irrational, you mean that its an emotion and not a result of reason, then yes, but fear isn't a bad thing. It informs us of that which we wish to avoid, and alerts us to danger.

So does rational thinking.

The burner is hot.
If I touch it, I will get burned.
I best not touch that burner.

See? Easy! No need to fear the stove.

Death sure beats the hell out of painful skin grafts and surgeries after breaking nearly all of your bones and getting burns over 40-60% of your body.

I'll take death any day of the week given that choice.

says you. some people have that crazy desire to live and still make most of life regardless of what has happened to them.

but i'm sorry if i gave a coherent and thoughtful response that disagreed with the point you were trying to make.

Death sure beats the hell out of painful skin grafts and surgeries after breaking nearly all of your bones and getting burns over 40-60% of your body.

I'll take death any day of the week given that choice.
That's a matter of opinion. Some people would rather live in the hope that they'll have a goof post-crash life.

but i'm sorry if i gave a coherent and thoughtful response that disagreed with the point you were trying to make.

No worries there, mate.

Well I have a fear of heights but I guess that comes from the fact that I never climbed tress and such when I was young and so aren’t used to it (your kind of wired to be afraid of heights when you’re a baby) same can be said for allot of things…

Unless it Moths that’s because my brain is saying to me “what the fuck is that it looks like it wants to eat me run!” (plus they like to fly at you and that’s wrong because animals should know fear!)

That's a matter of opinion.

So is fear.

Tluikorap;11752083']It's much less likely to crash with a plane than to have a car accident.
Nevertheless much more people feel safer in a car...
How many people have died in terror attacks in the Western World in the last few years? I dont have exact figures about that, but as a cause of death its clearly behind deseases, accidents, bad diet etc.
Nevertheless wars are fought, billions are spent and privacy and basic rights are infringed upon in the name of counterterrorism.
I guess there are many other examples.

Why do you think our fears are so irrational (do you think they are?)? I simply dont know...
well. let's add them up shall we...

How much the average person spends on Auto Insurance per year?
Road Repair/Maintenance?
Street Lights and maintaining those lights?
laws enacted for Safty belts, Child seats, Helmets, Speed limits, Driving Laws, etc...
Crash Testing?
Improving car bodies to insure passenger survivalbility?
Pedestrian Rules?
Law enforcement personell to insure traffic safety...

and add all that up... I think it will surpass the amount spent on Counter terrorism.

Oh and add the restrictions themselves and you'll find more for the car than for an airplane.

and add all that up... I think it will surpass the amount spent on Counter terrorism.

Excellent point. I can't be bothered to look all that up, but I have a sneaking suspicion that you're right.

Tluikorap;11752083']It's much less likely to crash with a plane than to have a car accident.
Nevertheless much more people feel safer in a car...
How many people have died in terror attacks in the Western World in the last few years? I dont have exact figures about that, but as a cause of death its clearly behind deseases, accidents, bad diet etc.
Nevertheless wars are fought, billions are spent and privacy and basic rights are infringed upon in the name of counterterrorism.
I guess there are many other examples.

Why do you think our fears are so irrational (do you think they are?)? I simply dont know...

It's about control, knowledge and the "personal" touch. In a car, either I'm in control of it or I know the person who is controlling it; I also know pretty much how a car works. When I'm in a plane, I don't control it, I don't know the pilot and I know less about how it works. And in car and plane accidents, the damage isn't personal, there is no malice or malevolence involved.

Where terrorists are concerned, I don't know them, I have no idea why they're doing what they do nor do I understand why they choose their targets - I have no control over them nor do I perceive that they have any self-control. They act, so far as I can determine, completely at random and without any regard for decency, rationality, humanity, ethics or morality in the name of some idiotic ideology grounded in fanaticism and yet they make it personal, as if, somehow, their targets had personally injured them thus giving them the right to destroy with malice and malevolence