3 ms·

I’m a little frustrated that ordinary people making a risk/reward calculation in the absence of complete information are being described as in a state of “fear”

I’m a little frustrated that ordinary people making a risk/reward calculation in the absence of complete information are being described as in a state of “fear”.

starkd 6y ago
Not to be glib, but isn't that the definition of fear? Making risk/reward calculations in the absence of complete information. It can lead either to paralysis or action. Such is life.
- elliekelly 6y ago
  Sure paralysis sometimes causes inaction but sometimes inaction is an affirmative decision to take no action. That isn’t fear, that’s just strategy. In fact the single best negotiation advice I ever got was to say nothing when you make an ask and the other side turns you down. Often the uncomfortable silence, even just for a few seconds, will cause the other person to instinctively walk back their firm no and start offering other possible solutions.
  - solinent 6y ago
    It may help to consider the opposite of fear, which is courage or daring, or even foolishness. You can be described as courageous by staying at home, sure, but you also might be fearful. Are there more dangers at home? Is the risk & reward both higher and the ratio higher? I think those are the questions that ultimately determine the answer. Given that there may be a huge negative to taking action however instead of inaction seems to suggest that it is fear by that criteria.
- JoshuaDavid 6y ago
  "Making risk/reward calculations in the absence of complete information" describes almost all decision making.
TimTheTinker 6y ago
Fear is not a bad thing in itself. It's fearing the wrong thing that leads to trouble (and incidentally, I think fear-based paralysis is best defined as a symptom of fearing the wrong thing). When faced with a threat, making a risk/reward calculation is really an attempt to be rationally driven in one's choice of what to fear. As a corollary, courage can be defined as fearing the results of not being appropriately brave more than the threat itself.

I’m a little frustrated that ordinary people making a risk/reward calculation in the absence of complete information are being described as in a state of “fear”.

starkd 6y ago

Not to be glib, but isn't that the definition of fear? Making risk/reward calculations in the absence of complete information. It can lead either to paralysis or action. Such is life.

elliekelly 6y ago
Sure paralysis sometimes causes inaction but sometimes inaction is an affirmative decision to take no action. That isn’t fear, that’s just strategy. In fact the single best negotiation advice I ever got was to say nothing when you make an ask and the other side turns you down. Often the uncomfortable silence, even just for a few seconds, will cause the other person to instinctively walk back their firm no and start offering other possible solutions.
- solinent 6y ago
  It may help to consider the opposite of fear, which is courage or daring, or even foolishness. You can be described as courageous by staying at home, sure, but you also might be fearful. Are there more dangers at home? Is the risk & reward both higher and the ratio higher? I think those are the questions that ultimately determine the answer. Given that there may be a huge negative to taking action however instead of inaction seems to suggest that it is fear by that criteria.
JoshuaDavid 6y ago
"Making risk/reward calculations in the absence of complete information" describes almost all decision making.

TimTheTinker 6y ago

Fear is not a bad thing in itself. It's fearing the wrong thing that leads to trouble (and incidentally, I think fear-based paralysis is best defined as a symptom of fearing the wrong thing). When faced with a threat, making a risk/reward calculation is really an attempt to be rationally driven in one's choice of what to fear. As a corollary, courage can be defined as fearing the results of not being appropriately brave more than the threat itself.