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sapinker's profile
Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Verified account
@sapinker

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Steven PinkerVerified account

@sapinker

Cognitive scientist at Harvard.

Boston, MA
pinker.wjh.harvard.edu
Joined January 2010

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    Steven Pinker‏Verified account @sapinker May 17

    Why do we fear plane crashes when the ride to the airport is more dangerous? https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2018/05/17/our-sense-danger-needs-reality-check/PBdt1pTngkpGv4NcueHrvO/story.html?event=event25 … via @BostonGlobe

    11:23 AM - 17 May 2018
    • 114 Retweets
    • 288 Likes
    • Heath Boyce 🇦🇺 Robert Ellen nic Emmanuel Goldstein Ryan Cobb Bryham Caroline Cruz Celtic Air Services Charles Garnaat
    44 replies 114 retweets 288 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. EvolutionistX‏ @EvolutionistXX May 17
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        Because the plane is IN THE SKY which is not a natural place for humans to be.

        1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
      3. George-san‏ @hopsanonymous May 17
        Replying to @EvolutionistXX @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        True, but neither is going 65 mph on a highway.

        0 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
      4. End of conversation
      1. New conversation
      2. Oliver Scott Curry‏ @Oliver_S_Curry May 17
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        I used to be afraid of flying, until I read this book. Cured me *whilst flying* to France @dblatner https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flying-Book-Everything-Wondered-Airlines/dp/0140297871/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526581602&sr=8-1&keywords=the+flying+book …

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
      3. David Blatner‏ @dblatner May 17
        Replying to @Oliver_S_Curry @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        I'm so pleased to hear it was helpful for you, Oliver!

        0 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
      4. End of conversation
      1. Derek Rayrose‏ @derekrayki May 17
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        Dunno? Maybe the quality of the autopilots these dayspic.twitter.com/dkomiWUDVw

        0 replies 0 retweets 5 likes
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      1. Skeptique ©‏ @Skeptique May 17
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        I don't buy this explanation. It presumes our fears are solely loss of life and not being subjected to sheer terror. Obviously dying in a car collision before you know what hit you is not as frightening as being sucked out an airplane window or forced to jump from World Trade Ctr

        0 replies 0 retweets 3 likes
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      1. New conversation
      2. Dena‏ @DanissaVS May 17
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        @ErnietayErnie

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
      3. Ernie‏ @ErnietayErnie May 17
        Replying to @DanissaVS @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        Yeah yeah I’ve heard it all before. Still doesn’t make me eager to fly.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
      4. End of conversation
      1. El Guapo‏ @theeyeisblind May 18
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        my chances of surviving a car crash are significantly higher than my chances of surviving a plane crash. if i am driving then i at least may have a measure of control over the situation. in a plane the only thing i can do is to pray for Harry Potter to leviosa my ass outta this.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Rampage 6‏ @BrandonKOwens1 May 18
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        Perhaps we feel a false sense of control when driving a car. As a passenger in a plane, there’s not even the illusion of us in control.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Thom Hansen‏ @Thom_Hansen_ May 18
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        Because humans aren't rational and never will be. Why do so many ignore human nature as the basis of our cognition?

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Samuel Pitt‏ @SamuelPitt3 May 17
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        That's true. In a lighter vein, a very learned professor who had a phobia of flying was asked why he was averse to flying. He thought for a while and answered: "On the ground here you are. In the air where are you."

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Vadim Berman‏ @vadimberman May 17
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        Because of the common fallacy that there is a higher degree of control (as if one can do much in a car crash as a passenger) and that more control means more safety.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Ragnar‏ @Riskarr5 May 17
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        Because I don't like the idea of screaming like a maniac alongside 100 other people as we careen at 600 MPH toward the earth.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Intelligent Investing, LLC.‏ @intell_invest May 17
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        Or all those people driving to the beach at 65mph with only a few feet and a yellow line separating them from those who come from the opposite direction at the same speed, while in the meantime fret and are afraid of a shark attack...

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. corey_lanum‏ @corey_lanum May 17
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        I agree with the theme of the article but he's wrong about the bus ride being more dangerous than a potential school shooting. An average of 5 school-age occupants of the bus die in school bus crashes nationwide per year. That's fewer than die in school shootings. Chk NHTSA stats

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Christopher‏ @ObviouslyNotAll May 17
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        Statistics can kill. Statistically, you're more likely to die of a head injury in a car than on a bike, so chuck your helmet in the bin and get riding through London.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Albin estevez‏ @albin_estevez May 17
        Replying to @sapinker @BostonGlobe

        Maybe because when we think of a plane crash we dont think a lot of people will survive while in car crash we have more chance of survival

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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