The SCIENCE of FEAR

Title: The SCIENCE of FEAR - Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't--and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger.

Author: Daniel Gardner

Pages: 324

Genre: Non-fiction

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Daniel Gardner takes a look at why we are so afraid of things that have incredibly slim chances of occurring to us. He compares decisions made by our gut to decisions made with our heads. Topics from terrorism to biology, crime to radiation are discussed. We are always overestimating the risk from crime and terrorism all the while underestimating the risks of major killers such as car accidents and heart disease. Gardner explores how politicians, the media and private corporations all use fear-mongering to their advantage.

My Review: If I had to come up with one word to describe this book it would be 'insightful.' The author cites study after study that shows how humans in general allow their gut to control their decisions and thinking. I often found myself thinking "Well, that doesn't apply to me" or "That's not how I look at it," before I realized that I am pretty much the same as the subjects in these studies. While people don't see themselves as biased by their gut or fear-tactics, we all certainly are. This isn't a book that you can cruise through, and there are some parts that are slower than others, but on the whole, this book was very interesting and one that everybody that is interested in how politicians, corporations, and the media use fear should read.

From the Book: "(p. 3) The safety gap is so large, in fact, that planes would still be safer than cars even if the threat of terrorism were unimaginably worse than it actually is: An American professor calculated that even if terrorists were hijacking and crashing one passenger jet a week in the United States, a person who took one flight a month for a year would have only a 1-in-135,000 chance of being killed in a hijacking--a trivial risk compared to the annual 1-in-6,000 odds of being killed in a car crash."

"(p. 10) Put all these numbers together and what do they add up to? In a sentence: We are the healthiest, wealthiest, and longest-lived people in history. And we are increasingly afraid. This is one of the great paradoxes of our time."

"(p. 24) The rather uncomfortable feeling most of us have when we're around snakes is evidence of how this ancient experience continues to influence us today. Throughout the long prehistory of our species and those that preceded it, snakes were a mortal threat. And so we learned our lesson. Others didn't, but that had a nasty habit of dying. So natural selection did its work and the rule--beware of snakes--was ultimately hardwired into every human brain. It's universal. Go anywhere on the planet, examine any culture. People are wary of snakes. Even if--as in the Arctic--there are no snakes. Our primate cousins shared our long experience and they feel the same way: Even monkeys raised in laboratories who have never seen a snake will back away at the sight of one."

"(p. 130) However hyped the risk of germs may be, it is at least real. Some corporations go so far as to conjure threats where there are none. A television ad for Brita, the German manufacturer of water-filtration systems, starts with a close-up of a glass of water on a kitchen table. The sound of a flushing toilet is heard. A woman opens a door, enters the kitchen, sits at the table and drinks the water. The water in your toilet and the water in your faucet "come from the same source," the commercial concludes. Sharp-eyed viewers will also see a disclaimer a the start of the ad printed in tiny white letters: MUNICIPAL WATER IS TREATED FOR CONSUMPTION. This is effectively an admission that the shared origin of the water in the glass and the toilet is irrelevant and so the commercial makes no sense--at least not on a rational level. As a pitch aimed at Gut, however, it makes perfect sense. The danger of contaminated drinking water is as old as humanity, and the worst contaminant has always been feces. Our hardwired defense against contamination is disgust, an emotion that drives us to keep our distance from the contaminant. By linking the toilet and the drinking glass, the commercial connects feces to our home's drinking water and raises an ancient fear--a fear that can be eased with the purchase of one of the company's many fine products."

"(p. 240) So should we ban or restrict synthetic chemicals until we have a full understanding of their effects? This attractively simple idea is a lot more complicated than it appears. If pesticides were banned, agricultural yields would decline, fruits and vegetables would get more expensive and people would buy and eat fewer of them. But cancer scientists believe that fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of cancer if we eat enough of them, which most people do not do even now. And so banning pesticides in order to reduce exposure to carcinogens could potentially result in more people getting cancer."

"(p. 233) In 1933, it was in Franklin Roosevelt's political interest to tell Americans the greatest danger was "fear itself." Seventy years later, it was in George W. Bush's political interest to do the opposite: The White House got the support it needed for invading Iraq by stoking public fears of terrorism and connecting those fears to Iraq."

Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity

Title: Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity

Author: John Stossel

Pages: 284

Genre: Non-fiction

Grade: A-

Synopsis: John Stossel, host of 20/20 (of which I've never seen a minute), investigates common myths and old wives tales that are simply not true. Stossel looks at lies in the media, business, government, lawyers, religion, health and many other topics. Each argument is backed up with expert opinion, true stories and tests that Stossel ran for his television show.

My Review: I realize that everything in this book needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The issues are explored through Stossel's glasses and the arguments are very, very compelling and enlightening. I learned loads about how the media places spin on stories (and exaggerate the truth), how politicians are catering to the lobbyists and how slimy many lawyers can be. Stossel attacks teacher's unions, school vouchers, Title IX (if a lawyer wins a civil rights lawsuit (such as Title IX) in many states, they are entitled to 6 times their regular hourly fee!), homeopathic remedies, DeBeers (diamond cartel), farm subsidies, Republicans, Democrats (Stossel considers himself a Libertarian), minimum wage, frivolous lawsuits, etc. I think that if you can read this book without getting angry about some things then you've got issues. The book is almost depressing in how twisted some things are. This is one book that I think everybody should read (and then form your own opinion about these "myths").

From the Book (I'm paraphrasing):

Myth: We're drowning in garbage!

Truth: There's plenty of room.

Off and on, the news will carry stories about how there is not enough room for all of our garbage. This simply isn't true (and if you think about it, how can we ever produce more garbage than the earth can store?). Owning a landfill is very competitive and many beautiful green areas are created by the garbage beneath them.

Myth: Feminist lawyers' fight sexism

Truth: Feminist lawyer's lawsuits make other lawyers richer.

Stossel gives the example of hair salons being forced to charge men and women equally. even though it takes longer to cut woman's hair, salons are being sued because it's a "human rights" violation. He also tackles the argument that aside from physical differences, men and women are the exact same. Many feminists are trying to sue because they aren't being elected to public office in equal numbers as men (how sexist!) and because people still believe that, in general, women are naturally better nurturers than men.

the five people you meet in heaven

Title: the five people you meet in heaven

Author: Mitch Albom

Pages: 196

Genre: Fiction, fable

Grade: A

Synopsis: This book is about death. The protagonist, Eddie, is an old man that works as a maintenance man at an amusement park in California. The book traces the story of his life and experiences and the impact that he had on other people, whether he knew them or not. Once Eddie dies, and exactly as the title suggests, he meets five people in heaven whose lives he impacted or who impacted his life.

My Review: This was a great one-day read. I left the other book that I'm reading at my parents' and picked this one up to fill the time. The book flows well and incorporates short lessons and stories into the bigger overall picture very easily. After finishing this book I took a few minutes to think about the people that have impacted my life and the people that I may have had an impact on. It was also very clear that nobody can know somebody else's entire story. The impressions that we have about other people consist of partial stories. Hopefully we will not judge others because there is so much going on that we are unaware of.

From the Book: "(p. 91) "Time," the Captain said, "is not what you think." He sat down next to Eddie. "Dying? Not the end of everything. We think it is. But what happens on earth is only the beginning.""

I Am David

Title: I Am David

Author: Anne Holm

Pages: 239

Genre: Children's Fiction

Grade: A

Synopsis: David has spent almost his whole life in a concentration camp in Eastern Europe. While there, the most important thing that he learned was how to do whatever it took just to stay alive. David is confused when a guard helps him to escape and tells him to make his way to Denmark. What follows is an inspiring story of a boy learning the nuances of the world outside the concentration camp, finding God and living on his own.

My Review: I'm really glad that I picked up this book. It's been on my list for a really long time. It's a children's book but suitable for adults. The descriptions of what is going on in David's mind is so clear and it is exciting to read as he meets children for the first time and as he learns to talk like a normal person. David's conversations with God are some of the best parts of the book.

From the Book: "(p. 32) The sun glistened on a drop of water as it fell from his hand to his knee. David wiped it off, but it left no tidemark: there was no more dirt to rub away. He took a deep breath and shivered. He was David. Everything else was washed away, the camp, its smell, its touch--and now he was David, his own master, free--free as long as he could remain so."

"(p. 131) David thought living in a house was very difficult. It was not the house itself--that was lovely to be in--but the people. What was so difficult about them was that they constantly seemed to expect him to say and do things he would never have though of, and what appeared sensible and natural to him seemed to surprise them..."

The Brothers Karamazov

Title: The Brothers Karamazov

Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky

Pages: 702

Genre: Classic

Grade: B

Synopsis: The book follows the penny-pinching father, Fyodor Karamazov and his three sons, Dmitri, Ivan, and Alexey. Dmitri is the prodigal son of sorts, he has received much of his inheritance but feels that his father has cheated him out of the rest. Ivan is the intellectual son, who struggles to get along with others and Alexey is the spiritual strength of the family and the hero of the book. The book mainly follows the three brothers and their relationships with each other, their father and ladies in the town. The father gets killed and one of the brothers is accused of the murder and is set on trial as the book winds down.

My Review: There were parts of the book that I loved and there were parts of the book that were incredibly difficult to get through. The book is long (over 411,000 words, according to amazon.com) and a fairly slow read. One thing that Dostoevsky has going for him is that the book really gets you thinking about religion and God, philosophy and the nature of man. For some reason, everytime I read this book, I would be falling asleep within a few pages.

From the Book: "(p. 60) 'By the experience of active love. Strive to love your neighbour actively and indefatigably. In as far as you advance in love you will grow surer of the reality of God and of the immortality of your soul. If you attain to perfect self-forgetfulness in the love of your neighbour, then you will believe without doubt, and no doubt can possibly enter your soul. This has been tried. This is certain.'"

"(p. 219) 'To begin with, for the sake of being Russian. Russian conversations on such subjects are always carried on inconceivably stupidly. And secondly, the stupider one is, the closer one is to reality. The stupider one is, the clearer one is. Stupidity is brief and artless, while intelligence wriggles and hides itself. Intelligence is a knave, but stupidity is honest and straightforward. I've led the conversation to my despair, and the more stupidly I have presented it, the better for me.'"

"(p. 227) 'No, I can't admit it. Brother,' said Alyosha suddenly, with flashing eyes, 'you said just now, is there a being in the whole world who would have the right to forgive and could firgive? But there is a Being and He can forgive everything, all and for all, because He gave His innocent blood for all and everything. You have forgotten Him, and on Him is built the edifice, and it is to Him they cry aloud, "Thou art just, O Lord, for Thy ways are revealed!"'"

"(p. 271) 'Truly,' I answered him, 'all things are good and fair, because all is truth. Look,' said I, 'at the horse, that great beast that is so near to man; or the lowly, pensive ox, which feeds him and works for him; look at their faces, what meekness, what devotion to man, who often beats them mercilessly. What gentleness, what confidence and what beauty! It's touching to know that there's no sin in them, for all, all except man, is sinless, and Christ has been with them before us.'"

"(p. 442) 'When all are undressed, one is somehow not ashamed, but when one's the only one undressed and everybody is looking, it's degrading,' he kept repeating to himself, again and again. 'It's like a dream, I've sometimes dreamed of being in such degrading positions.' It was a misery to him to take off his socks. They were very dirty, and so were his underclothes, and now everyone could see it. And what was worse, he disliked his feet. All his life he had thought both his big toes hideous. He particularly loathed the coarse, flat, crooked nail on the right one, and now they would all see it. Feeling intolerably ashamed made him, at once and intentionally, rougher. He pulled off his shirt, himself."

"(p. 542) 'God preserve you, my dear boy, from ever asking forgiveness for a fault from a woman you love. From one you love especially, however greatly you may have been in fault. For a woman--devil only knows what to make of a woman: I know something about them, anyway. But try acknowledging you are in fault to a woman. Say, "I am sorry, forgive me," and a shower of reproaches will follow! Nothing will make her forgive you simply and directly, she'll humble you to the dust, bring forward things that have never happened, recall everything, forget nothing, add something of her own, and only then forgive you. And even the best, the best of them do it. She'll scrape up all the scrapings and load them on your head. They are ready to flay you alive, I tell you, every one of them, all these angels without whom we cannot live! I tell you plainly and openly, dear boy, every decent man ought to be under some woman's thumb. That's my conviction--not conviction, but feeling. A man ought to be magnanimous, and it's no disgrace to a man! No disgrace to a hero, not even a Caesar! But don't ever beg her pardon all the same for anything...'"