risk Quintessensual On Risk and Being Afraid The concern here is not financial risk or the risk of loss at gambling, which are basically the same thing. The concern here is risk as a basis for fear for one's health or life associated with engaging in some activity. Risk is the rational basis for such fear, for being afraid. There are many irrational bases for it: all sorts of mania, the mistake that "safety" is an absolute that is meaningful without reference to risk, plain ignorance of risk. For some activities, the risks can be measured and are known with great precision. The risks of being injured or killed in an automobile accident, on a commercial airline flight, and while riding on a train, of being infected with HIV-2 in a single sexual encounter, protected or not, and of dying from lung cancer due to smoking cigarettes are examples. These are risks insurance companies like, so they know how much to charge to make out as bandits. For other activities, risk could be measured but has not been, beyond at most reasonable approximations. These activities tend to be rare and low risk, so nobody bothers measuring them. An example would be the risk of being injured or killed in a collision with a skater at an ice speedskating competition. For many, and perhaps most, activities, risk can at best be only grossly estimated. Examples of these activities are ones with which many small risks, many of which are not known or understood, are associated and ones for which the risks are so miniscule that it is too difficult or takes too long to obtain relevant data. Operating a nuclear power plant, living in tornado alley or along the San Andreas Fault, and standing outside in order to expose oneself to meteorite impacts are examples of these activities. An appreciation of risks and their magnitudes should inform how people live, if we assume they wish to live healthy and reasonably happy, long and productive lives. It is astonishing how ignorant people are of risk, the magnitudes of risks that are known, approximations of risks that are not known precisely, and ways of approximating risks of contemplated activities. As a consequence, people's lives are adversely affected by needless fear and astonishingly foolish behavior. 991129 ... amy and what is the risk of violence, or even a terrorist attack, when a bunch of powerful people gather in an American city close to the international border? what would be the true harbinger of globalization? i need to know. i'm afraid of the possibility of the n-word. the authorities are on top of it, though. they are the ones that planted the idea in my head. are they paranoid, or do they have the number that assesses this risk? what is that number? 991129 ... someone To Live is to risk Dying 000121 ... lokkust every christmas we played this. i've never finished a game. 000610 ... User24 Quitessential, (I know you're not there, but I'm going to honor you with a reply anyway) Risks are innumerable, for, in this infintite universe, every possibility is just that; possible, it is, however remotely possible, a possibility that it will start raining elephants and I will get half squashed before being rescued by an indian mystic called bob, I will then run away with him, nly to be killed by a poisonous snakebite on the way to his home. It is possible. For every line of best fit, there are furthest points, every zero has a one, in other words, I agree, the calculated risks are gross estimates, but I think that knowing this, it is silly to say that people flaunt risks and a act foolishly, for, even if they know the risk, who's to say whether it's been accurately calculated? 030507 ... User24 or even if any risk is totally calculable, beyond being able to say that a risk has been calculated to a reasonable level of perfection. In other words, I suppose I'm saying that yes, smoking may kill me, but so may crossing the road, but it doesn't stop me doing that. 030507 ... User24 of course, the converse argument to that is that while crossing a road may kill me, so might smoking, and, were I to stop smoking, the risk, regardless of what is, will undenyably be reduced (unless smoking has a positive effect on health, which for simplicity's sake, I'm ruling out) Therefore do something about the risks over which you have control, and ignore those you don't. But be careful when deciding that you don't have control over a risk, becuase I think you'll find you have total control over all reality, if you think abuot it hard enough. 030507 ... User24 and the converse argument to -that- would be that if you spend all your lfie controlling yourself, you'll end up with perfect karma and no material achievements, which may or may not be a good thing. The counter for that argument is that you obviously either strike a balence between assesing risks and taking them (or become an insurance exec) 030507 ... jezabel step forward, lean, and grin. there is no fall that can kill you, not in these lands, and broken heals quick. and the fall can be so exhilarting 030905 ... risk risk is stpeping out of your comfort zone. it's healthy. when you step out of your zone, you see everything in life that your comofort zone hide. 041205 ... () (3 dice atack to indonesia) 041205 ... In_Bloom Who is more afraid of the other? Who wants this to work on more than the other? 090825 ... K@T in the H@T I would like to encourage you to risk more & risk more often - risk with style & grace. Those who never risk are already dead have already failed. The risk-takers may fail or die but if you ever saw the trickster smile on their fully-alive faces as their final curtain descends you'd never shy away from risk again.... 090825 what's it to you? who go blather from