The Science of Fear: Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't--and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger
The subtitle of this book is 'Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't - and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger". And that's an excellent one sentence summary.
There are a couple books I read every year that I wish I could buy in bulk and send to every one of my friends and family members. This is one.
It highlights the psychological tricks your brain plays on you when you estimate risk, and how these overestimates (and underestimates) cause us to allocate our resources in foolish ways, personally and politically. One by one, he slays the most common sacred cows in American culture. Environmental pollutants aren't a major cause of cancer, less than 2 percent, in fact. Do you believe in "better safe than sorry"? That's called the precautionary principle and it doesn't make as much sense as many think. So go read the book. :)
Really, I insist.
