The Science of Fear: Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't--and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger - Hardcover

Gardner, Daniel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525950621 ISBN 13: 9780525950622

Publisher: Dutton Adult, 2008

Synopsis

A provocative analysis of the scientific causes of irrational fear offers insight into the brain's role in causing people to experience and react to fear, in a fast-paced report that explains how heightened fear in the post-9/11 world is dangerously intersecting with biologically driven responses. 25,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

Daniel Gardner is a columnist and senior writer for The Ottawa Citizen . He has received numerous awards for his writing, including Amnesty InternationalÂ’s Media Award and the Michener Award.

Review:

“An excellent work... a cheery corrective to modern paranoia.”—The Economist
 
“An invaluable resource for anyone who aspires to think clearly.”—The Guardian
 
“An entertaining, often jolting account of why trivial risks terrify us, even as we engage in wildly dangerous activities with hardly a qualm.”—Kirkus (starred review)
 
“Gardner’s vivid, direct style, backed up by clear examples and solid data from science and psychology, brings a breath of fresh air and common sense to an emotional topic.”—Publisher's Weekly
 
“Elegantly weaves academic research and everyday experience, exposing the secrets of emotion and reason, and the essential roles they play on our lives. An excellent book.”—Dan Ariely, New York Times bestselling author of Predictably Irrational
 
“Essential reading for anyone interested in the social mistakes we make every day—and how to fix them.”—Tyler Cowen, author of Discover Your Inner Economist
 
“Those of us who spend our careers in research hope that someone like Daniel Gardner will come along and bring our findings to the world in an engaging and scientifically accurate way.”—Paul Slovic, Professor of Psychology, University of Oregon
 
“Compelling... By showing how to read statistics properly and engage the head over gut instinct, Gardner aims to get us thinking more carefully about how we run our lives—and make it harder for politicians, the media and advertisers to lead us astray.”—The New Scientist
 
“Terrific... As a writer, he's exceptionally good—he has the clarity of Malcolm Gladwell.... He takes you through a maze of difficult academic work, and makes it seem simple.”—The Evening Standard
 
“A fascinating insight into the peculiar and devastating nature of human fear, while training the reader to be ever wary of misleading media announcements.”—The Daily Telegraph
 
“Elegantly summarizes the results of psychological research... His chapters on the risk of being a victim of crime or terrorism provoke a peculiar mix of comfort and despair. It is heartening that the danger is slight; it's unsettling how skewed our political system and consumer culture are towards convincing us of the opposite.”—The Observer

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton Adult
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0525950621
• ISBN 13: 9780525950622
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352