Ten Ways We Get The Odds Wrong Summary

688 Words2 Pages

In the article "Ten Ways We Get the Odds Wrong", author Maia Szalavitz emphasizes "why worrying about risk is itself risky" (255). While behaving riskily can lead to bad outcomes, having anxiety, being worried, or being afraid of the outcome of some risks can be dangerous to your body both physically and mentally. According to Szalavitz, fear can be one of the scariest things out there. Even President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that the "only thing to fear is fear itself" (FDR's first inaugural address). Both of these sources let the reader know that fear can affect their body's physical and mental well-being. I can attest to this being true through multiple personal experiences. My worst experience with being afraid of fear and it causing

Show More
Related

  • The Theme Of Fear In Victor Villaseñor's Burro Genius

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fear is a powerful emotion. Wikipedia.com describes fear as “an emotion induced by threat perceived by living entities, which causes a change in brain and organ function and ultimately change behavior, such as running away, hiding or freezing from traumatic events.”Most people tend to avoid fearful situations, not realizing that something positive may come out of the event or experience. Victor Villaseñor focuses on the topic of fear in his novel titled Burro Genius. Villaseñor demonstrates to readers how growing up he was extremely fearful of any situation. Victor also tells his readers how he turned his fear into motivation into motivation to keep going and reach his ultimate goal of becoming a published author.

    Read More

  • Tangerine Theme Analysis

    452 Words  | 1 Pages

    This affects me as a person because facing my fear and overcoming it is really hard to me because I usually don’t face my fear in person because I usually face my fear in dreams and I don’t like seeing it. I remember in the past when I got so mad and almost got into a rage mode which made me feel really bad in the inside. My sister got me really mad by doing something I told her not to do, but instead of myself getting really mad, I was able to handle my anger and not get really mad. I got really happy because I was able to overcome my fear of not getting really mad and not feeling really bad in the inside. A future fear is me not doing good in school or other sport activities. To me this is a big fear because when I do bad in swimming and school then I get in trouble by my parents but if I do good in swimming and school then my parents get proud of me. If I do good in swimming and school then it means I am overcoming my fear of my parents getting mad at

    Read More

  • Fear in William Golding's Lord of the Flies

    1069 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human's fears should not be taken lightly. Fear could do anything to one's minds, though without fear, man can be as savage as animals. In the book Lord of the Flies, William Golding presented fear of the unknown to be a powerful force in a man's mind. Fear of the unknown is a powerful force, which can turn to either insight or hysteria. The kids feared of not being rescued off of the island, so they made signal fires on top of the mountain. Then, there and gone, Roger's fear of the old rules he abided to. Also, there were the fears of the beast which confused and isolated the kids from the top of the mountain.

    Read More

  • Anxiety Research Paper

    515 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anxiety disorders are the 2nd most diagnosed mental illness in the United States. Anxiety comes from the “fight or flight” physiological response in ones body. The fear a person experiences is an intense emotional alarm accompanied by a surge of energy in the autonomic nervous system. The surge is what motivates us to flee from danger, cueing the “flight” response. However, some anxiety is good for us in moderate amounts. Most people perform better when we are a little anxious (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908). Anxiety can improve test performance or make you more energetic and charming on a date. It improves, social, physical, and intellectual performance. In fact little would get done if we didn’t have any anxiety. However anxiety can be negative as well. The most common symptoms are looking worried and anxious or fidgeting. That is pretty normal for most people. These symptoms are a physiological response that starts in the brain. It elevates the heart rate and creates muscle tension. Most of the research has been done with animals. Animals seem to experience anxiety in a similar way to ...

    Read More

  • Phobia Essay

    2597 Words  | 6 Pages

    First, there must be an understanding that there is a difference between normal fear and a phobia. The two are very similar, but they have a distinct characteristic and description that sets the two apart. A normal fear is a feeling that everyone can fear and something very simple and is not complex to the mind. A normal fear is related to any common and daily situations that can occur in one’s life. It is normal and helpful to feel fear in dangerous and nerve-racking situations; this experience is quite normal. Some examples of a situation like this can be waiting for a grade on a test you weren’t quite ready for, driving a car for the first time, or even taking part in a rough contact sport where you can get hurt. To humans, fear is something that is adaptive. Being adaptive, it is serving us to protect us. Being adaptive can be seen as a “fight-or-flight” response. This means tha...

    Read More

  • Criticism of Pascal's Wager

    1542 Words  | 4 Pages

    The proof for the existence of God is an issue that may never be resolved. It has caused division among families and friends, nations and society. The answer to the question “does God exist?” is almost an impossible one to give with certainty seeing that there is a variety of people, ideas, cultures and beliefs. So how does one know if one’s actions here on earth could have eternal consequences? What is, if any, a “safe bet” to make? Blaise Pascal was a 15th century philosopher and a mathematician who proposed the idea that although one cannot know for certain that God exists, one can make a “safe bet” that it is far better to believe in God than not to believe in God. This is not a proof for the existence of God but rather an idea that suggest that if there is a God, it is in the person’s benefit to believe rather to disbelieve because the odds are in favor of the believer. This gambler-like idea is better known as “Pascal’s Wager” or “The Gambler’s Argument.” Nevertheless, this sort of play-the-ponies idea is not quite precise. Although Pascal’s Wager serves as a stepping-stone for non-believers, it is a rather vague, faithless and inaccurate argument.

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Fear In 'Antojo' By Julia Alvarez

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fear influences people to make irrational decisions and take extreme measures. Often times, these actions are done to protect one’s reputation. Fear causes people to lie and manipulate to those they care about in order to escape what they are scared of most. Fear of failure has caused higher levels of anxiety, and has made society put blame on each other, rather than owning up to their mistakes. Fear can also cause one to forget one’s true identity and lose one’s values. There are two options that one can take when being faced with a fear: run away from the fear, or go through it and learn a valuable lesson in the end that will make you a stronger person. Fear is a harmful emotion that everyone has to go through in order to succeed.

    Read More

  • Fear Causes And Behavior In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    “There is nothing to fear but fear itself” (Roosevelt). “Fear is a chain reaction in the brain that starts with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemicals that cause a racing heart, fast breathing and energized muscles, among other things, also known as the fight-or-flight response” (Layton). Fear affects the brain and can help people or make them in a worse situation than they were in the first place. Fear most motivates/influences people during times of crisis by clouding judgement and becoming a weapon of power.

    Read More

  • Harmfulness Of Fear Essay

    1535 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the words of Bertrand Russell, “Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom” (Russell). Fear causes many problems in our lives. Fear influences many of a person’s actions and decisions. However, people usually regret the decisions or actions they made out of fear. Also, these actions and decisions can cause problems for those people in their future. Fear is a harmful emotion, for it clouds people’s judgement, disables them from taking action, and causes them to make decisions that they will regret later.

    Read More

  • Anxiety

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    Anxiety is one of the most fundamental emotions shared by all species of animals. When confronted with danger, the fight or flight response of the sympathetic nervous system is triggered so that we are prepared to react and protect ourselves. Without anxiety and its physiological manifestations, such as hypersensitivity to environment and enhanced blood supply to leg muscles, the likelihood of harm or disaster in threatening situations would undoubtedly dramatically increase. A moderate amount of anxiety also has the result of prompting individuals to prepare for certain events, such as exams and presentations, that clearly benefit from this action.

    Read More

  • Fear: The Emotion of Darkness

    523 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stated by psychologist, Dr. Vince Berger, fear is an in-built survival mechanism. A person is born only with two in-bornfears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noise; the rest of a person’s fears are learned. Psychiatrist, Maxie Clarence Maultsby, introduced the concept of four fatal fears: the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of being wrong and the fear of being emotionally uncomfortable. Maultsby, along with other Psychiatrist, believe these ...

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Fear And Fear

    398 Words  | 1 Pages

    First of all, comparison about worry and fear. Worry and fear are the negative thought or emotion. Because the both can mean to be concerned about someone or something. Moreover, they can be used together. Fear can cause worry and worry can cause fear. In the example, Boom is worry about his doctor’s appointment because he has a fear of doctors. In the other hand, Boom has a fear of the doctor because he is worry about having to go see the doctor for an appointment. Another similarity, fear and worry can lead to depression. Depression is a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal. It is about sadness and gloom. Constant worry and fear eventually leave a person feeling overwhelmed. That makes their life as hopeless. Feelings of

    Read More

  • Fear: The Fear Of Fear By Chris Hadfield

    1216 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Chris Hadfield, fear is the unpleasant emotion (caused by dangerous) by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, or likely to cause pain or threat. One of the saying is “Fear is a choice while danger is the reality of a certain situation”- which means we cannot control the level of danger in a situation, but we can choose to feel afraid or chose not to let fear limits our ability to try something new, create or dream from coming true but with practice we can overcome our fear of scary situations. For example, Chris Hadfield mentioned as a little kid, he always dreamt of going on spaceships and becoming an astronomer. However, as he mentioned about his dream, it was impossible to be true if he believed his fears about flying or trying something for the most part known to be dangerous. In my opinion, I agree with what Chris Hadfield mentioned about the fear that it sometimes can be excessive, but it is our choice to overcome these fears by more practice and gaining new experience, but I also think that it can be useful because it can hinder us from doing something that actually could harm us.

    Read More

  • Depression And Anxiety Essay

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    Not all anxiety is negative. The Dalai Lama once said, "Once you 've been bitten by a snake, you are very cautious even of a coiled rope." This is a great example of the manner in which anxiety can serve a person to be careful, cautious, and considerate when moving through what can be perceived as dangerous terrain. Anxiety also provides fuel for humanity to take actions in planning and developing for the future. In this way, a counselor must understand what is a healthy sense of awareness of danger and future expectations and

    Read More

  • Constant Spreading

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edmund Bourne Ph.D., one of the authors of Natural Relief for Anxiety said, "There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things that are beyond the power of our will". Sometimes people worry about things that are beyond our reach or beyond our control, these are the things that Edmund Bourne is talking about. He is saying that if we worry about things that we cannot control, then we can never be happy. People will argue that too much worrying will lead to social anxiety or panic disorders. Worrying may seem like a bad thing, but it becomes bad once it reaches a limit. Once people reach excessive worrying then that is when problems can occur to one's health. People will say worrying is bad, because it causes stress, makes us feel more tired, may speed the aging process. All these factors make it seem as if worrying is more of a negative impact than a positive impact. Worrying has a lot of positive impacts on people. Everything will have its pros and its cons. Some people view the cons of worrying much more important than the positive aspects. Worry helps us make decisions much better, and faster. It helps us perform better when doing important tasks. In schools when students worry about their grades, it makes them focus better and study more. All of these factors help people become better people in the long

    Read More

More about Ten Ways We Get The Odds Wrong Summary

Open Document