Remember, if it’s in the news don’t worry about it. The very definition of news is “something that almost never happens.” When something is so common that it’s no longer news — car crashes, domestic violence — that’s when you should worry about it.
I think not worrying about things in the news needs some fine-tuning—if a war is happening where you live, it will affect your safety level, and it will be in the news.
“don’t worry—that sort of thing is so rare, when it happens, it makes the news!”
Well said! Here’s how Bruce Schneier put it:
Remember, if it’s in the news don’t worry about it. The very definition of news is “something that almost never happens.” When something is so common that it’s no longer news — car crashes, domestic violence — that’s when you should worry about it.
I wrote an essay about the utter irrationality of “stranger danger” based on that quote: http://messymatters.com/strangers
I think not worrying about things in the news needs some fine-tuning—if a war is happening where you live, it will affect your safety level, and it will be in the news.
That’s the canonical response now! Thanks!