To expand on this, it's tempting to dismiss those warning of doom and gloom when you start to notice a pattern of the doom never materializing. But we should a

To expand on this, it's tempting to dismiss those warning of doom and gloom when you start to notice a pattern of the doom never materializing. But we should also be aware of the possibility that those warning of doom and gloom activate people's minds to severity and risk of the problem. Because more people are aware and paying attention, we collectively take action to mitigate the risk and the worst case never happens. A great example is our response to a pandemic. The response that creates the least amount of damage might look like a major over-reaction and people will start to question those who raised alarm with such intensity. How do we deal with this meta problem?