3 ms·

What good is being afraid going to do?

• ugh 16y ago
  What good is being happy going to do? I think it is very hard to make a convincing case that fear causes us to do less. It might lead to that reaction in some people, I’m not sure whether that is true of everyone. The kind of fear that stops you in your tracks seems rather like a overreaction – a misfiring – of your fear circuitry. You should, after all, run when you see the tiger, not stop. My guess would be that fear leads to inaction only in a minority of people. That’s only a guess, but I’m not exactly sure why having no emotional reaction or being happy upon hearing those news (and assuming there’s some truth to them) is better.
• steve19 16y ago
  Exactly. If the Department of Energy were truly worried about running out of oil they would be investing in nuclear power stations and a overhaul of the power grid to prepare for the day that we all have to plug our cars into the grid.
  • jerf 16y ago
    I was thinking the same thing when the author was hypothesizing about carbon credits being a secret scheme to prepare us for peak oil; if our government really was preparing us for this and really had our best interests at heart there's many other things they would be doing. Telling us, for one. ("Keep things secret so people don't panic" applies to acute crises, not gradual crises perceivable decades in advance. If indeed it applies at all.)