Our family just got back from another vacation on the beach in South Carolina. There are virtually never any shark attacks there, yet the further I walk out into the ocean, the more my mind wonders if sharks are nearby.
The walk to the beach encompasses a walk by a few alligator-infested ponds. The gators down there are large, but seemingly unaggressive. Still, the thought of wandering too close to a pond gets my heart pounding.
Rarely do I see any dogs down there, but I would welcome their presence if I did because I have always been a dog lover. The only bad experience I have had with a dog was when a German Shepherd leaped my neighbor's fence and bit me in the behind...literally. I must have been five at the time, but such memories are hard to forget.
Our family beach vacation aside, what sharks, alligators, and dogs have taught me recently is a lesson about fear. Fear is rarely based on facts. Take, for instance, the following statistics on human fatalities in the United States from sharks, alligators, and dogs in 2015:
- 1 shark attack fatality
- 3 alligator attack fatalities
- 34 dog attack fatalities
These statistics don't mean that I, or any of us for that matter, should respect the power and might of sharks and alligators any less than we already do. It is just to point out that our fear towards them are probably overblown at best, and misplaced at worst.
The statistic on dogs was so surprising to me that I immediately denied it when I read it. In fact, I actually spent time researching it yesterday to confirm it (I originally read the statistic in National Geographic - a rather safe resource!). This denial is another form of fear, the fear that one's worldview is incorrect. Notice how I had to overcome my denial to accept the truth? Fear has a way of muddying the waters. Besides, denial is more comfortable than changing my view towards Fido.
Like all data, the statistics above deserve elaboration and interpretation in order to really understand them. I don't view dogs any differently than I did prior to learning the statistics above. Some of the attacks that led to fatalities came from dogs specifically trained to protect, while others potentially came from dogs neglected or abused. The point here isn't that dogs are violent. The point is that fears are often misguided. We allow a news story or personal encounter to spark palpable fear and muddle our thinking when a step back and a look at the real statistics would probably restore our calm and clarity. Fear is part of human nature—a God-given part—that is meant to protect us, not paralyze us.
I'll remember these statistics the next time I am at the beach. I'll also remember them when the next opportunity comes involving new or challenging technology. Shark attacks are rare after all.
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