We are the safest and healthiest human beings who ever lived, and yet irrational fear is growing, with deadly consequences — such as the 1,595 Americans killed when they made the mistake of switching from planes to cars after September 11. In part, this irrationality is caused by those — politicians, activists, and the media — who promote fear for their own gain. Culture also matters. But a more fundamental cause is human psychology.
Risk : The Science and Politics of Fear
by Dan Gardner
http://www.dangardner.ca/index.php/books/item/16-risk-the-science-and-politics-of-fear
The modern world is too much for the Stone Age brain – or “Gut” as the author calls it – to comprehend. The modern mind – or “Head” – is locked in a battle with the gut to react rationally to the supernormal stimuli the media throws at us. Our instincts evolved to cope with a far simpler environment and their sense of proportion is easily thrown. This happened after the 9/11 terrorist attacks when, according to one calculation, an extra 1,595 Americans died on the roads as a result of avoiding domestic flights. If a jet flew into a tower every month for a year, then someone who flew once a month would have a 1 in 135,000 chance of being killed in a hijacking compared to a 1 in 6,000 of being killed in a car crash.