Well, as pointed out by others, we do poorly when a threat is: -- Diffuse vs. concentrated in who is affected -- Slow and steady vs. acute and sudden -- Appa

Well, as pointed out by others, we do poorly when a threat is: -- Diffuse vs. concentrated in who is affected -- Slow and steady vs. acute and sudden -- Apparently familiar / understood vs. unknown / frightening Maybe this is just our vulnerability as a species, and takes inordinate amount of effort to fight against. Confronting climate change falls into the same category of course.