Why we Worry About all the Wrong Things
summary
Claims land with numbers: only about 12 of 40,000 spider species pose harm, spiders kill ~7 people/year vs cows ~20; major airline accident odds ~1 in 5.4 million, average passenger flies daily 241 years before a fatal crash; US car deaths ~38,000 in 2019. Experiments show sweat transfers fear and dentists perform worse; a fridge change (cans visible) fixes a LaCroix dispute. Actionable tools include optimal stopping, explore/exploit, win-stay/lose-shift, CBT steps: identify, notice, reframe, iterate.
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chapters (12)
- 0:00Intro
- 0:43Disclaimers
- 5:03Risk perception gap
- 6:02Health concerns
- 6:49Workplace issues
- 16:16Catastrophic potential
- 18:23Our risk assessment process is outdated.
- 21:07Don't blame yourself
- 22:14First things first
- 24:08Be prepared
- 30:24Lessons from cognitive behavioral therapy
- 33:31Ask for help.
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