scary doggy

Allie and I have become big fans of KC Dog Blog, because we love doggies. But recently the site has taken a particularly profound turn, with a series of posts called Fear Mongering in America.

From Part 2:

"We often worry about things that … are not very dangerous, but which seem it. And the reason they seem it is because of … the media who show images and tell stories about terrible, terrible things that happen," said Stephen Dubner, author of the excellent book Freakonomics. "People see those things and they think that they are the norm, and in fact, they are a great exception."

Dubner goes on to explain how "child resistant packaging, flame retardent pajamas, drawstrings on clothing, children dying from the impact of airbags, side airbags in cars" to name a few "and in fact, the loss of life in each of these is very, very small. But as a marketing tactic, it's an extremely powerful effect."

Also see Part 1.