Opposition to the release of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima clean-up into the ocean is based on fear that flies in the face of the facts, and vastly exceeds the risk.
Our deep fear of cancer, developed decades ago, is now outdated, and doing great harm all by itself. Warnings about reductions in cancer screening because of COVID are one example.
The emotional landscape of the pandemic is shifitng. Fear remains high. But creeping in are the insidious anxieties of not having normal social contact.
The death toll from COVID-19 is about to rise with frightening speed. Hard as it is against that fearful count, we need to bear in mind the positives we can find.
There will be plenty of time to play politics with the coronavirus threat later. Doing it now, as things escalate, directly adds to the danger for everyone.
We fear cancer more than any other disease. Yet that fear sometimes does great harm all by itself. While we work to cure cancer, we also need to recognise and combat cancerphobia.
Celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing are overlooking why we really went; fear, which not only drove that program, but brought a divided country together.
Do we consciously think for ourselves, or does our brain subconsciously do our thinking for us? A fun test with a famous intellectual raised, but failed to answer, the question.
Some fear President Trump. His supporters fear Muslims and immigrants and 'others'. Our radically different fears reveal something truly scary about human cognition.
The need for control over our own lives explains why Americans would probably support a 28th amendment to limit money in politics and return control of government to the people.
Around the world people feel like they are losing control over their lives and futures. That produces deep vulnerability and fear, and all sorts of divisive and harmful behaviors
Evidence finds that GMOs pose no human or environmental health risk, yet many deny that mountain of evidence. Why, and how does such science denial create real danger?
Some friends have recently canceled travel to places with Zika virus, even though they are not in the at-risk population of pregnant or soon-to-be-pregant women. Why the fear?
Donald Trump can so easily play on our fears because deep down, millions are worried that they are losing control over how their lives are going—economically and morally.
The ruling by the Supreme Court granting the individual right to own guns is full of language saying that reasonable gun controls are still constitutional.
We are sometimes too afraid of lesser risks, and not afraid enough of bigger ones, and getting risk wrong can be a risk all by itself. Research from several fields of science explain this apparently irrational behavior. These insights, offered here in the context of current issues which supply a constant source of real-life examples, can help us understand ourselves and our risk decision making, and that can help us make healthier choices about risks for ourselves and for society.
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