Thoughts on Risk ... and how it is spun in the media

[Guest]

In reading Mary's post about the gentleman in the near-trucking accident, I have been thinking more and more about the risks that are present in our daily lives and how those risks are: a. perceived and b. managed.

I was just reading a risk assessment/management document commissioned by the US EPA concerning the risk-to-benefits of eating 'contaminated' fish. It is great bed time reading for anyone interested in a natural sedative ... http://www.tera.org/Publications/cdrpage.htm

Cutting to the chase, an excerpted sentence from the conclusions section reads,

Decisions about acceptable risks and distribution of risks and benefits throughout society is a social decision, to be made collectively by the communities affected (Shrader-Frechette, 1990; Knuth, 1995).

While this is a politically charged issue, I thought it would be interesting to see what other people thought about risks, as reported in the media (or elsewhere). Consider this as a cue to think about things in your life where risk is present and how you (individually) perceive and manage those risks and then how your social group (society) perceives and manages those same risks.

What I find the most intersting, is the thought that this is a social decision. Engineering, and the regulation thereof, is predicated on service to society. Something I have been doing A LOT of thinking about, especially since I have thought about what 'change you can believe in' really means.

There have been a number of news messages that prey upon the fear of risk .. risk of polluted fish, global warming, nuclearized iran, nuclear proliferation of Korea, etc. I am wondering (out loud) when we were supposed to become so afraid of risk? There is risk in our daily lives .. in fact, for most of us, the riskiest thing we did today was get into a car and drive to work. I don't see anyone suggesting you should not engage in that activity much less be afraid of it.

I have been recently thinking about risk perception a lot lately because I am also involved in a project where the risk has been over-reported (exaggerated) by the media and some politicians. It is frustrating to see people make glib statements about things that they really don't seem to fathom ... or appreciate for what seems to be nothing more than to advance a political agenda. However, I digress ...

[/rant]

So, thoughts?

JR

 

[wilheldp_PE]

You used the word risk 18 times in this post (including the title).

I have nothing productive to add.

 

[Supe]

As long as there is ever any sort of media, we will never have an unbiased opinion in regards to risk, and it will always be a social issue. Hype gets attention, and stigma garners the need for people to justify their abilities with titles and pieces of paper.

 

[snickerd3]

definitely over used in the media...trying to create choas which sells newspapers. Rather annoying when you have to try to then explain what it really means to family who believes anything the newspaper or news channels say.

Everything in life has a risk, it is just up to you about how you let it rule you. But then there is the whole method used in calculating risk and massaging the numbers to get them to tell you what you want.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

You mean Alar on apples was over-hyped??

 

[TouchDown]

Prey on fear. It sells newspapers and fuels action (even misinformed action). The media will oversell any news story to be the first, not be left out, draw people in, etc.

I get most of my news from a newspaper - I think it's a little less dramatic - and has less info about John and Kate Plus 8.

Why do I care that a couple who sold their lives to pay for their bills after they had 8 kids and needed a way to support such a large family? Oh, that's right, I don't care.

As far as risk / reward. Information and mis-information is so readily available these days, so I think we're more informed or misinformed than ever. You can look up why your neck hurts on the internet.

As stupid as that movie was, I see Idiocracy happening right before my eyes.

Go onto YouTube and watch the "Rainbow Lady" spout off about all the chemicals in her water because of the "rainbow" she sees when watering her yard. It's a conspiracy.

I live in a house that has tested above allowable limits for Radon in the past. We installed a Radon Mitigation system and have had it tested annually... plus, I went out and purchased a monitoring device for real time numbers. Do I worry about my kids - yep. Do I question if it was the right thing to do to move into the house? Maybe. Am I glad that at least I have the information and feel like I'm managing the problem vs. never testing and not knowing. Yes.

It's the items that are out of our control that the media really, and truely like to prey on - how wonderful it must be to inform people about horrible things that could happen to them that they have absolutely NO control over.

I think I need some Prozac so everything just feels good all the time!!!

 

[MGX]

I don't know why people worry about risk. Today in the US we privatize profits and socialize risks see GM/Chrysler/AIG etc...

 

[Dleg]

I was thinking about risk this morning, while watching people zip by me at 55-60 mph in a 35mph zone. On an island, where you're going to get where you're going in 5-10 minutes no matter how fast you go. And where pedestrians are killed about once every 2 months, and serious collisions occur maybe twice as frequently.

It got me thinking that maybe we humans just aren't genetically ready for all this speed and technology. Think about it - our ancestors were used to going fast on their own feet, or maybe on skis or a horse, but now you give these same creatures (us) motor vehicles and cell phones, where the consequences of a mistake are far more severe, and we still go just as fast as we possibly can, obviously accepting the risk. Even though we know full well we will die a painful, bloody death if someone pulls out in front of us, or we lose our concentration at the wrong time.

But then that also got me thinking, what can be done about it? Pretty much nothing. Forcing some sort of evolution on us won't work - what are we going to do, create a human that won't get killed in a high speed collision? That won't be poisoned by chemical by-products of modern life? I doubt it. Which is why I think titanium robots, fashioned in the likeness of Arnold Schwarzennager, will more likely succeed us than some evolution of humans.

So then I just said "fuck it" because I needed to make the left turn into my office parking lot, and my McMuffin was in my hand and I had other, more important things to think about. Like getting a parking spot in the shade.

Go onto YouTube and watch the "Rainbow Lady" spout off about all the chemicals in her water because of the "rainbow" she sees when watering her yard. It's a conspiracy

For real? I need to check that out...