Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.
Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
By most accounts and metrics, we in modern Western nations live in the wealthiest, safest society ever. We have some of the broadest and strongest social "safety nets" in history, and lower inequality than most large societies of the past. Thus, the downsides to risk-taking are presumably the lowest ever; never has "the price of failure" been so low.
So, why then, do we seem to be some of the most risk-averse people ever? Why do we appear to be more terrified of failure than our ancestors who were one bad harvest away from starvation?
(I wonder about this, because it seems to me to be a factor in our modern allergy to authority, specifically how scared people seem to be at the idea of stepping up and taking charge of something.)
Perhaps I’m misinterpreting the type of “risk-averseness” that you’re talking about, but to me, the relationship between the stability of one’s current situation and one’s willingness to take risks is the exact opposite of your assessment. If you’re already in a perilous situation, then you’re so close to rock bottom that the potential upsides of a risky endeavor far outweigh the potential downsides. Vice versa for a comfortable situation.
This is clearest in sports: in football, it’s usually not the team leading by 10 points with 3 minutes left in the 4th that will throw a Hail Mary or kick an onside kick. In hockey, you never see a team in the lead pulling their goalie.
My recollection of what I've read in the past (which is not worth much) is that if a person is in, for example, a significant calorie deficit, it often comes with lethargy and lack of activity, but if it goes on enough to be a serious threat to life, apparently folks basically involuntarily have a need for movement, bursts of activity. They can't help themselves but to get up and move. So the relation is somewhat state-dependent. Maybe just conserve energy during typical lean periods, but if stuff gets really bad, obviously sitting around wasn't getting the job done, and so the risk of using your last ounce of energy is worth the chance that maybe you'll find a last second food source.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link