Feeling anxious after recent events like the Brussels airport attack? It's natural to feel fear, but how real is the threat compared to other daily risks? This video dives into the statistics of dying from terrorism versus far more common causes like heart attacks, car accidents, falls, or even lightning strikes and bee stings. We use data from experts like John Allen Paulos, Steven Pinker, Steven D. Levitt, and Stephen Dubner to put the risk of terrorism into a rational perspective. Discover why you're statistically far more likely to face other dangers than be affected by a terrorist attack. Learn how news media coverage can shape public perception and why the world is, statistically, safer than ever before. Don't let disproportionate fear impact your perspective or deter travel. Watch now to understand the true probability and replace panic with perspective.
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00:00the recent events involving a terrorist attack at the brussels airport are deeply unsettling
00:08it is understandable to feel a sense of unease particularly when one has recently been in the
00:15vicinity however it is crucial to place such events in a rational perspective and avoid
00:21succumbing to undue panic while the possibility of dying in a terrorist attack exists it is
00:27statistically highly improbable often compared to the likelihood of being struck by lightning
00:32far more common causes of death include heart attacks or accidents like falls downstairs or
00:39slips in the bathroom to gain a clearer rational perspective examining relevant statistics is
00:46helpful as noted by john allen paulos in enumeracy annual fatalities in the united states from
00:53various causes significantly dwarf those from terrorism for instance vehicle accidents account
01:00for approximately 40 000 deaths annually falls around 20 000 homicides 18 000 drownings 3 000
01:08including about 300 in bathtubs and fires 3 000 accidental poisoning results in roughly 24 000 deaths
01:18surgical complications 2500 and asphyxiation in bed around 300 unspecified non-transportation accidents
01:28account for another 17 000 fatalities in contrast deaths from international terrorism in the u.s have
01:35been fewer than 400 per year since 1968 and from domestic terrorism around 2500 annually since 1998 figures current
01:45as of the article's original writing deaths in the workplace are statistically 10 times more frequent
01:52than those from terrorism in the u.s cognitive psychologist stephen pinker points out in the
01:58better angels of our nature that in most years excluding outliers like 1995 and 2001 more americans have died
02:06from causes such as lightning strikes encounters with deer peanut allergies bee stings or even clothing
02:13catching fire during sleep than from terrorist attacks further statistics from sources like the national
02:20safety council the national center for health statistics and the u.s census highlight these disparities
02:29an individual is about 17 600 times more likely to die from a heart attack than from a terrorist attack
02:36and roughly eight times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist
02:41stephen d levitt and stephen dubner in superfreakonomics estimate the annual probability of an american dying in a
02:51terrorist attack at roughly one in five million noting one is 575 times more likely to die by suicide
03:00despite these statistics news coverage of terrorism often emphasizes the horror and overstates its actual
03:06global impact which in turn affects public perception this leads many to believe the world is less safe
03:14or even uniquely unsafe a view that is statistically unfounded as mark siegel argues in false alarm the truth
03:22about the epidemic of fear the industrialized world is statistically safer than ever before people are living
03:30longer lives with fewer serious incidents our inherent adaptive fear mechanisms designed to respond to
03:38immediate natural dangers remain highly active even when those dangers are minimized leading to disproportionate
03:45and unjustified panic understanding the actual risks should prevent terrorist incidents from deterring
03:51including essential activities like travel especially to countries considered statistically safe