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There might be some truth in this, but it's also true that we're really bad at avoiding risks. The pandemic is a good example of that. Nearly everyone in the

by jmcqk6 6y ago

There might be some truth in this, but it's also true that we're really bad at avoiding risks. The pandemic is a good example of that. Nearly everyone in the US, nearly every business in the US, was almost completely unprepared for it. A better way to look at it might be that we optimize for being comfortable. It's not so much risk aversion, but since risks make us uncomfortable, we avoid them.

tomsthumb 6y ago
For the most part, people who don’t address Covid as a risk do so because they don’t see it as a risk. That’s different than choosing to avoid risk.
_bxg1 6y ago
We're good at avoiding small, mundane risks. We struggle to prepare for large, novel risks.
toomanybeersies 6y ago
I think we're so bad at avoiding risks because most of us are so averse to risk that we're not exposed to any mild risk, so we're completely unprepared and incapable of handling greater risks. Most children are shielded from risks growing up, since good parents don't want their kids to get hurt. They end up reaching adulthood lacking any risk awareness or crisis management skills.
Viliam1234 6y ago
Speaking about pandemic, I was very surprised at the cultural differences about face masks. And I don't mean whether people want to use them or not, because you find both kinds of people everywhere. The surprising difference was at behavior of people who thought that using a face mask was a good thing... what was their following step? My American friends typically did some research, found which types of face masks offer the highest protection, and refused to settle for anything less. Then they complained on social networks about the good masks being sold out. My Eastern European friends typically found some DYI videos, and then either started making their own face masks at home and selling them on social networks, or just bought them if someone else was faster. In a week or two, everyone had as many masks as they wanted to have. Lower quality, sure, but way better than nothing. Of course, I am generalizing here, but this was the pattern I noticed, and it quite surprised me, because I honestly expected the opposite thing to happen. I expected Eastern Europeans to beg their governments to do something about the situation, and Americans to handle the situation using their entrepreneurial spirit. But somehow I saw Americans complaining about why Trump didn't do this or that, and Eastern Europeans taking initiative in their own hands; and even the statistics show how the latter approach saved thousands of lives. Seems like living in a country where you know that everything is unreliable, especially the system (whether you use this word to mean goverment, market, or whatever other power greater than you and your neighbors), provides some valuable survival skills. Now I guess the question is how to develop or maintain those skills when your environment improves. Because, obviously, most people would like to see their situation improve and the environment become more reliable.
- munificent 6y ago
  I'm sure there's some perceptual bias here because you notice the Americans complaining but have no easy way of noticing the Americans who did just silently figure out a way to make do and get on with their lives.
munificent 6y ago
> but it's also true that we're really bad at avoiding risks. I think we're good at avoiding individual risks but bad at avoiding systemic ones. Some mixture of American individualism and capitalist-driven consumer culture has led America to a place where we belong to few groups aside from our family and job, and where we relatively rarely work together to solve problems. If we don't know how to fix something by spending money on it as individuals, we just don't know how to fix it.

by jmcqk6 6y ago

tomsthumb 6y ago

For the most part, people who don’t address Covid as a risk do so because they don’t see it as a risk. That’s different than choosing to avoid risk.

_bxg1 6y ago

We're good at avoiding small, mundane risks. We struggle to prepare for large, novel risks.

toomanybeersies 6y ago

I think we're so bad at avoiding risks because most of us are so averse to risk that we're not exposed to any mild risk, so we're completely unprepared and incapable of handling greater risks. Most children are shielded from risks growing up, since good parents don't want their kids to get hurt. They end up reaching adulthood lacking any risk awareness or crisis management skills.

Viliam1234 6y ago

Speaking about pandemic, I was very surprised at the cultural differences about face masks. And I don't mean whether people want to use them or not, because you find both kinds of people everywhere. The surprising difference was at behavior of people who thought that using a face mask was a good thing... what was their following step? My American friends typically did some research, found which types of face masks offer the highest protection, and refused to settle for anything less. Then they complained on social networks about the good masks being sold out. My Eastern European friends typically found some DYI videos, and then either started making their own face masks at home and selling them on social networks, or just bought them if someone else was faster. In a week or two, everyone had as many masks as they wanted to have. Lower quality, sure, but way better than nothing. Of course, I am generalizing here, but this was the pattern I noticed, and it quite surprised me, because I honestly expected the opposite thing to happen. I expected Eastern Europeans to beg their governments to do something about the situation, and Americans to handle the situation using their entrepreneurial spirit. But somehow I saw Americans complaining about why Trump didn't do this or that, and Eastern Europeans taking initiative in their own hands; and even the statistics show how the latter approach saved thousands of lives. Seems like living in a country where you know that everything is unreliable, especially the system (whether you use this word to mean goverment, market, or whatever other power greater than you and your neighbors), provides some valuable survival skills. Now I guess the question is how to develop or maintain those skills when your environment improves. Because, obviously, most people would like to see their situation improve and the environment become more reliable.

munificent 6y ago
I'm sure there's some perceptual bias here because you notice the Americans complaining but have no easy way of noticing the Americans who did just silently figure out a way to make do and get on with their lives.

munificent 6y ago

> but it's also true that we're really bad at avoiding risks. I think we're good at avoiding individual risks but bad at avoiding systemic ones. Some mixture of American individualism and capitalist-driven consumer culture has led America to a place where we belong to few groups aside from our family and job, and where we relatively rarely work together to solve problems. If we don't know how to fix something by spending money on it as individuals, we just don't know how to fix it.