The Science of Fear

Why We Fear the Things We Should Not - and Put Ourselves in Great Danger

By: Daniel Gardner

Narrated by: Scott Peterson

Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

From terror attacks to the War on Terror, bursting real-estate bubbles to crystal meth epidemics, sexual predators to poisonous toys from China, our list of fears seems to be exploding. And yet, we are the safest and healthiest humans in history. Irrational fear is running amok, and often with tragic results. In the months after 9/11, when people decided to drive instead of fly - believing they were avoiding risk - road deaths rose by 1,595. Those lives were lost to fear.

The Science of Fear is a disarmingly cheerful roundtrip shuttle to the new brain science, dissecting the fears that misguide and manipulate us every day. As award-winning journalist Daniel Gardner demonstrates, irrational fear springs from how humans miscalculate risks. Our hunter-gatherer brains evolved during the old Stone Age and struggle to make sense of a world utterly unlike the one that made them. Numbers, for instance, confuse us. Our "gut" tells us that even if there aren't "50,000 predators...on the Internet prowling for children," as a recent U.S. Attorney General claimed, then there must be an awful lot. And even if our "head" discovers that the number is baseless and no one actually knows the truth - there could be 100,000 or 500,000 - we are still more fearful simply because we heard the big number. And it is not only politicians and the media that traffic in fearmongering. Corporations fatten their bottom lines with fear. Interest groups expand their influence with fear. Officials boost their budgets with fear. With more information, warnings and scary stories coming at us every day from every direction, we are more prone than ever to needlessly worry.

©2008 Daniel Gardner (P)2009 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"Excellent.... analyses everything from the media's predilection for irrational scare stories to the cynical use of fear by politicians pushing a particular agenda....What could easily have been a catalogue of misgovernance and stupidity instead becomes a cheery corrective to modern paranoia." ( The Economist)

Better book than narrator

The first half or even 2/3rds of this book are outstanding. It's full of good information and common fallacies of logic. He starts to reinforce the same points over-and-over near the end and starts going off on a political diatribe near the end, which was unnecessary and out of place, but I recommend it very strongly.

That said, the narrator is in need of a dictionary. He is not very talented, and really subtracted from an otherwise outstanding audiobook.

Fascinating examination of fear

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes... it uses statistics and information to help show contrast between perception of danger compared to reality. We live in a world that is far safer than it ever has been, yet people live in more fear today than many far more dangerous periods of history.

A good read to sharpen your thinking.

If you could sum up The Science of Fear in three words, what would they be?

Sharpen your mind - Clarity of thinking begins with understanding data and motive, and Gardner presents a good argument for choosing leaders by maturity and wisdom over style and good one-liners.

What other book might you compare The Science of Fear to and why?

If you enjoyed Outliars or Tipping Point (Gladwell) you will enjoy this read. Just as it is a treasure to find a beautiful woman who also has a deep, wonderful intellect, it is a treasure to find a book that both entertains and broadens your understanding of the world.

Get your head into your fears!

Mr. Gardner is not a psychologist, or a sociologist, and that is great. He is an investigative reporter/writer. And as one who has done a lot of research, from all angles of the science of fear, he does not write from a particular view point. Therefore he is able to write about fear from many viewpoints without the bias that would be present from another type of writer.
The author has layed out fear, and it's drivers in our thoughts, feelings and actions in modern life. And how the politicians and corporations use fear to manipulate how we think of what they do, or what we should buy. He also points out the many things that are not done because of fear can and do costs many lives. As well as huge amounts of money every year. If people used their head more often and less of their gut in making life's decisions we all would be much better off. I think this book is a must read for anyone wanting to take more control of their thoughts of the world around them; and their lives.
Mr. Peterson does a very professional job with the narration. I did not find him having anything that would interfere with listening to his narration. I enjoyed it, and would listen to him again.

Interesting Perspective on Todays worries

What did you like best about this story?

Interesting perspective on why people react to the things they do and what we should be reacting to. Very well read though got a bit repeatitve towards the end. Enlightening to those who havent sat back and thought about the mathematical realities of of those things most people fear.

What does Scott Peterson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Well read and enjoable to listen to.

Nice surprise

Very much enjoyed this book after picking it up during one of Audible's sales without any particular expectations. Probably the best deal I've gotten here and has made me think about the psychology a little bit more than I had before.

What's in a name? In this title: a deceit

Any additional comments?

Curious… the author criticizes disinformation and hidden agendas, but does mostly the same since the book deals in many topics but “The science of fear”, whatever it might be.It ends up being a good book but on media and other topics, not fear.

The Science of Fear was a great read

What made the experience of listening to The Science of Fear the most enjoyable?

This book was a very thought provoking read with great insights into the other areas of behavior and habit.

This book changed how I perceive the world!

If you suffer from fearfulness or anxiety that stems from any irrational fear of catastrophe or things like robberies, plane crashes, murder....this book was made for you. Puts logical thinking behind all of these events and makes you realize you literally are very safe. We believe all bad things are "on the rise" and occurring more frequently when, in fact, this world has been improving for hundreds of years. Very very compelling and empowering. I highly recommend!

This is a good book.

This is a great book I wish more people would listen to it and I'm probably going to listen to it again