Other People's Risk

"D'ailleurs, c'est toujours les autres qui meurent."* An interesting cartoon on risk perception by XKCD.

This great little cartoon from xkcd introduces an interesting question: if we think that most people don’t think about the risk of something, but we do, then do the statistics about the risk still apply to us?

Of are we just falling victim to the psychological phenomenon of illusory superiority, the fact that most people believe they are smarter / more careful / more honest / more … than the average person?

*Besides, it's always the others who die. Epitach of Marcel Duchamp

Michael Z. Bell
22 September 2010

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