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Germans love to be panicked though, I think that's a much larger part of it than actual fallout. The recommendations for self-harvested mushrooms and game are t
by luckylion 5y ago
Germans love to be panicked though, I think that's a much larger part of it than actual fallout. The recommendations for self-harvested mushrooms and game are to not eat them excessively in the areas that were affected more strongly.
Contrast that with the damage that was done by decades of coal power plants polluting the air you breathe. Coal is more damaging each year than chernobyl was, it just gets much less attention.
- ben_w 5y agoPeople in general are bad at risk assessment. In many countries, roughly 30% don’t want vaccines, citing the 1:10,000 side effects, ignoring the roughly 1:1,000 fatality rate (as a fraction of global population, 1:55 of infected[0]). Same deal with playing lotteries in the expectation of getting rich, or fearing terrorists more than dangerous drivers. [0] https://covid19.who.int/ https://covid19.who.int/
- luckylion 5y agoCertainly, but imminent doom is essentially a hobby in Germany. We have the term Angstlust which I always found quite fitting: deriving pleasure from fear. It's an interesting realization when you've grown up in Germany and then live outside of it for a while and realize that not everyone is constantly worried about the world ending tomorrow.
- ben_w 5y agoCurious, I’ve not noticed that moving to Berlin from the UK. Where did you go? In wondering if the U.K. is just as bad, or if Berlin is unusually chill.
- luckylion 5y agoDenmark. I didn't have the impression that Berlin is different in that regard (though it's very different in many, so maybe?).