The Science of Fear How the Culture of Fear Manipulates Your Brain

by Gardner, Daniel

• ISBN13: 9780452295469
• ISBN10: 0452295467
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-06-24
• Publisher: Plume

Summary

From terror attacks to the war on terror, real estate bubbles to the price of oil, sexual predators to poisoned food from China, our list of fears is ever-growing. And yet, we are the safest and healthiest humans in history. Irrational fear seems to be taking over, often with tragic results. For example, in the months after 9/11, when people decided to drive instead of flyabelieving they were avoiding riskaroad deaths rose by more than 1,500. In this fascinating, lucid, and thoroughly entertaining examination of how humans process risk, journalist Dan Gardner had the exclusive cooperation of Paul Slovic, the world renowned risk-science pioneer, as he reveals how our hunter gatherer brains struggle to make sense of a world utterly unlike the one that made them. Filled with illuminating real world examples, interviews with experts, and fast-paced, lean storytelling, "The Science of Fear" shows why it is truer than ever that the worst thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Author Biography

Daniel Gardner is a columnist and senior writer for The Ottawa Citizen. He has received numerous awards for his writing, including Amnesty International-'s Media Award and the Michener Award.

Table of Contents

Prologue: 1, 595	p. 1
Prehistoric Refugee	p. 5
Of Two Minds	p. 18
The Death of Homo economicus	p. 32
The Emotional Brain	p. 59
A Story About Numbers	p. 87
The Herd Senses Danger	p. 102
Fear Inc.	p. 125
All the Fear That's Fit to Print	p. 155
Crime and Perception	p. 182
The Chemistry of Fear	p. 218
Terrified of Terrorism	p. 246
There's Never Been a Better Time to Be Alive	p. 289
Afterword	p. 305
Notes	p. 317
Bibliography	p. 337
Acknowledgments	p. 341
Index	p. 343
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