Reddit reviews The Science of Fear: How the Culture of Fear Manipulates Your Brain

There's another book called The Science of Fear that talks about how people's perception of danger is highly inflated by the media reporting sensational, yet uncommon, events. Our minds evolved for tribal living with perhaps hundreds of people around. In that situation, seeing someone getting killed, raped, beaten or eaten would have a strong effect on you. Now that we are all interconnected through media, we are exposed to seeing terrible things happening all the time around us. So even though life is far safer than it has ever been for the vast majority of humans alive today, it seems like we are living in extremely dangerous and regressive times.

Our minds don't really account for the fact that the bad things that we see happening are statistically rare.

Globally speaking.


And domestically, violence was on the decline - despite how many may have felt at the time.

Piggybacking off the guy below me's link, here's a relevant book recommendation - https://www.amazon.com/Science-Fear-Culture-Manipulates-Brain/dp/0452295467

If anyone else is interested in some of the underlying psychology of these faux epidemics, I'd recommend The Science of Fear by Daniel Gardner. The last line of your post is especially relevant to many of the underlying themes.

I played D&D when I was younger too. My parents didn't seem to mind... probably because my dad was into video games. I only vaguely recall the news hysteria, and that there were a few other kids I knew who weren't allowed to play.

I recommend the book the science of fear: how the culture of fear manipulates your brain by daniel gardner - which I actually just started reading last week. it's pretty good. the book starts with 9/11 and this exact example of fear and road deaths.

Buy this book and [this book]9http://www.amazon.com/Informal-Logic-Pragmatic-Douglas-Walton/dp/0521713803/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343375779&sr=1-2&keywords=informal+logic) and this book and this book.

I know that's a lot to read but you asked a question that has a really big answer to it. If you attempt to rush through a subject like "how to argue well" you'll just end up not achieving what you wanted to be able to do in the first place. I would start with Philosophy made simple first. It has summaries of major philosophical ideas and at the end introduces logic. Taht's where you'll get your feet with modus tolens, modus ponens, affirming the consequent, necessity, sufficiency and all that jazz. Good luck!