One of the things that bothers me most in humans is irrationality. This psychological problem is spread so wide and therefore hurts so many people.
The deadliest part about 9/11
What do you think was the deadliest part about the terrorist attacks on the twin towers? The first plane? The second one?
I will tell you. It was neither of them. The by far deadliest part was the psychological effect the attacks had on society worldwide. After the attacks, many people drove distances by car they would have taken by car otherwise. Even though statistics clearly show that flying is way safer then driving by car. I have seen statistics which calculated that 9/11 indirectly caused way more deaths by car crashes the deaths after the attacks itself.
Did you know that?
The emotional problem with vaccines
More and more people get afraid of vaccines. This is mainly because horror stories about vaccines are spread on the internet. And those few horror stories completely shift the public picture for some. It’s understandable. While it is not very exciting to just tell about a healthy vaccinated kid, a horror story about some serious illness after vaccination just sounds way more terrific. And as we all know tragic stories tend to be remembered better. It’s just a game with emotions. Many of those stories may not even be linked to vaccines. But the tragic images still burn into our heads and stay there. And this is way many people are afraid of one of the best medical inventions ever. You can’t even blame them for that - Being afraid is natural and sometimes good. This state of emotions saves many lives. But in some cases, it also kills.
So be aware and turn down your emotional view. Just search for the scientific facts and don’t let your intelligence fooled by emotions. I am sure you will figure out the right thing to do this way.
I wrote something on this psychological problem in two separate posts:The SEATBELT LIE - Why they do more harm than good and why you probably should stop using them!
The big psychological dilemma about the side effects of vaccines...
This list could be continued for dozens of pages…
But can irrationality also be good?
Of course it can. In the end emotions like this are what differs us from being machines. Still in many cases it is bad for as. It is important to understand the principle behind it and look out for situations where irrationality develops into a real danger. As a big starting point, I would advise everybody to learn on how to filter good information from bad information. In the age of the internet there is an overwhelming amount of information available in seconds. The ones who can filter this flood of data are the ones who will succeed.
You all know the saying: “Knowledge is power”. Of course, knowing a lot is a good thing. But it is not that important any more. Infinite Knowledge is available everywhere where you have an internet connection. So, everybody could gain knowledge. What’s far more important is to filter the data available. And it is also important to look for good resources. With billions of people using the internet there are also many written things which are just not true. So always question scientific background and the intention of what you read. Therefore, I would change the saying to:
“The key to success is dealing with the available information the most efficient way and to not get fooled by selection bias”
I would like to urge you all to question the concept of this post and think of how you can use it to make your life better.
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