Risk

Author: Dan Gardner
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
ISBN: 1551992108
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 510

Book Description
In the tradition of Malcolm Gladwell, Gardner explores a new way of thinking about the decisions we make. We are the safest and healthiest human beings who ever lived, and yet irrational fear is growing, with deadly consequences — such as the 1,595 Americans killed when they made the mistake of switching from planes to cars after September 11. In part, this irrationality is caused by those — politicians, activists, and the media — who promote fear for their own gain. Culture also matters. But a more fundamental cause is human psychology. Working with risk science pioneer Paul Slovic, author Dan Gardner sets out to explain in a compulsively readable fashion just what that statement above means as to how we make decisions and run our lives. We learn that the brain has not one but two systems to analyze risk. One is primitive, unconscious, and intuitive. The other is conscious and rational. The two systems often agree, but occasionally they come to very different conclusions. When that happens, we can find ourselves worrying about what the statistics tell us is a trivial threat — terrorism, child abduction, cancer caused by chemical pollution — or shrugging off serious risks like obesity and smoking. Gladwell told us about “the black box” of our brains; Gardner takes us inside, helping us to understand how to deconstruct the information we’re bombarded with and respond more logically and adaptively to our world. Risk is cutting-edge reading.

Extreme Fear

Author: Jeff Wise
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0230101801
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Book Description
Ever since the phrase "fight or flight" was coined in the 1920s, the common understanding has been that the mind respond to danger in one of two ways - either fleeing in blind panic, or fighting through it. But as scientists unlock the secrets of the human brain, a more complex understanding of the fear response has emerged. It turns out that the ancient brain circuitry wired to process fear is also intricately tied to our ability to master new skills, and that the icy sensation of terror can actually enhance both our physical and our mental performance. Veteran science journalist Jeff Wise, who writes the "I'll Try Anything" column for Popular Mechanics, journeys into the heart of the primal force to find its hidden roots: Where does panic come from? How is it that some people can perform masterfully under pressure? How can we live a more courageous life? Reporting from the front lines of science, Wise takes us into labs where scientists are learning how we make decisions when confronted with physical peril, how time is perceived when the mind is on high alert, and how willpower succeeds or fails in controlling fear. Along the way, he illuminates the science with riveting stories of true-life danger and survival. We watch a woman defend herself from a mountain lion attack in a remote canyon; we witness couple desperately fighting to beat back an encircling wildfire; we see a pilot struggle to maintain control of his plane as its wing begins to detach. Full of amazing characters and cutting-edge science, Extreme Fear is an original and absorbing look at how we can raise the limits of human potential.

Scream

Author: Margee Kerr
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1610394836
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Book Description
Shiver-inducing science not for the faint of heart. No one studies fear quite like Margee Kerr. A sociologist who moonlights at one of America's scariest and most popular haunted houses, she has seen grown men laugh, cry, and push their loved ones aside as they run away in terror. And she's kept careful notes on what triggers these responses and why. Fear is a universal human experience, but do we really understand it? If we're so terrified of monsters and serial killers, why do we flock to the theaters to see them? Why do people avoid thinking about death, but jump out of planes and swim with sharks? For Kerr, there was only one way to find out. In this eye-opening, adventurous book, she takes us on a tour of the world's scariest experiences: into an abandoned prison long after dark, hanging by a cord from the highest tower in the Western hemisphere, and deep into Japan's mysterious "suicide forest." She even goes on a ghost hunt with a group of paranormal adventurers. Along the way, Kerr shows us the surprising science from the newest studies of fear -- what it means, how it works, and what it can do for us. Full of entertaining science and the thrills of a good ghost story, this book will make you think, laugh -- and scream.

Influential Internal Communication

Author: Jenni Field
Publisher: Kogan Page Publishers
ISBN: 1789666147
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 235

Book Description
Streamline your organization's communication for happier employees, clients and customers, with this powerful and practical methodology featuring insight from experts Simon Sinek and Brené Brown. As the title suggests, Influential Internal Communication proves just how influential internal communications (IC) is, and the measurable impact it has on an organization's growth. For many organizations, IC often slips down the list of priorities when there are high pressure, high stakes business situations to cope with. This causes a sense of chaos and confusion within the organization that will - eventually - permeate to external customers and clients. Influential Internal Communication presents a clear, adaptable methodology that will help readers understand, diagnose and fix their own communication challenges, thereby transforming the chaos into calm. Backed up with data and statistics from industry reports on workplace culture, Influential Internal Communication is based on The Field Model and draws on research with CEO's, some of the best insights into people, organisations and chaos. The theory is backed up with real world case studies, showing how chaos can impact a range of organizations of varying size and industry. Written by the 2020 President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), Influential Internal Communication will streamline any organization's IC practices, and help to drive engagement, efficiency and profit across the board.

Nerve

Author: Eva Holland
Publisher: The Experiment
ISBN: 1615198318
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Book Description
Now in paperback: A striking, widely praised work of experiential reportage on surmounting paralyzing fear

Nerve

Author: Taylor Clark
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316126861
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
Nerves make us bomb job interviews, first dates, and SATs. With a presentation looming at work, fear robs us of sleep for days. It paralyzes seasoned concert musicians and freezes rookie cops in tight situations. And yet not everyone cracks. Soldiers keep their heads in combat; firemen rush into burning buildings; unflappable trauma doctors juggle patient after patient. It's not that these people feel no fear; often, in fact, they're riddled with it. In Nerve, Taylor Clark draws upon cutting-edge science and painstaking reporting to explore the very heart of panic and poise. Using a wide range of case studies, Clark overturns the popular myths about anxiety and fear to explain why some people thrive under pressure, while others falter-and how we can go forward with steadier nerves and increased confidence.

Nerve

Author: Eva Holland
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735237352
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER FINALIST FOR THE 2021 HUBERT EVANS NON-FICTION PRIZE A personal story about not only facing but conquering fears. In 2015, Eva Holland was forced to confront her greatest fear when her mother had a stroke and suddenly passed away. After the shock and grief subsided, Holland began to examine the extent to which her many fears had limited her, and wondered whether or not it was possible to move past them. This sent Holland on a deep dive into the science of fear, digging into an array of universal and personal questions: Why do we feel fear? Where do phobias come from and how are they related to anxiety disorders and trauma? Can you really smell fear? (Yes.) What would it be like to feel no fear? Is there a cure for fear? Or, put differently, is there a better way to feel afraid? On her journey, Holland meets with scientists who are working to eliminate phobias with a single pill, she explores the lives of the few individuals who suffer from a rare disease that prevents them from ever feeling fear, and she immerses herself in her own fears including hurling herself out of a plane for her first skydive (and in the process, learns that there are right and wrong ways to face your fears). Fear is a universal human experience, and Nerve answers these questions in a refreshingly accessible way, offering readers an often personal, sometimes funny, and always rigorously researched journey through the science of facing our fears.

State of Fear

Author: Michael Crichton
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 006175272X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 817

Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Michael Crichton delivers another action-packed techo-thriller in State of Fear. When a group of eco-terrorists engage in a global conspiracy to generate weather-related natural disasters, its up to environmental lawyer Peter Evans and his team to uncover the subterfuge. From Tokyo to Los Angeles, from Antarctica to the Solomon Islands, Michael Crichton mixes cutting edge science and action-packed adventure, leading readers on an edge-of-your-seat ride while offering up a thought-provoking commentary on the issue of global warming. A deftly-crafted novel, in true Crichton style, State of Fear is an exciting, stunning tale that not only entertains and educates, but will make you think.

The Nature of Fear

Author: Daniel T. Blumstein
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674916484
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Book Description
An Open Letters Review Best Book of the Year A leading expert in animal behavior takes us into the wild to better understand and manage our fears. Fear, honed by millions of years of natural selection, kept our ancestors alive. Whether by slithering away, curling up in a ball, or standing still in the presence of a predator, humans and other animals have evolved complex behaviors in order to survive the hazards the world presents. But, despite our evolutionary endurance, we still have much to learn about how to manage our response to danger. For more than thirty years, Daniel Blumstein has been studying animals’ fear responses. His observations lead to a firm conclusion: fear preserves security, but at great cost. A foraging flock of birds expends valuable energy by quickly taking flight when a raptor appears. And though the birds might successfully escape, they leave their food source behind. Giant clams protect their valuable tissue by retracting their mantles and closing their shells when a shadow passes overhead, but then they are unable to photosynthesize, losing the capacity to grow. Among humans, fear is often an understandable and justifiable response to sources of threat, but it can exact a high toll on health and productivity. Delving into the evolutionary origins and ecological contexts of fear across species, The Nature of Fear considers what we can learn from our fellow animals—from successes and failures. By observing how animals leverage alarm to their advantage, we can develop new strategies for facing risks without panic.

The Psychology of Fear and Stress

Author: Jeffrey Alan Gray
Publisher: CUP Archive
ISBN: 9780521270984
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 436

Book Description
How do human emotions arise, what functions do they serve, what is their evolutionary background, how do they relate to behaviour and the brain? These questions are put, and answered, in relation to the emotion of fear in this, the second edition of professor Gray's extremely well known book, first published in 1971. In this edition, the text has been extensively modified and brought up-to-date, but the book maintains the style and general argument of the first edition. The author's approach in this book is from a biological standpoint; he emphasises the evidence that has accumulated from experiments by psychologists, ethologists, physiologists and endocrinologists. Although a lot of this evidence has been obtained from animal studies, it throws light on the psychology and physiology of fear in Man. Differences between individuals in their susceptibility to fear are treated with as much attention as the common factors are.