Perception of Death

Okay, the title is a bit misleading. I would make a crappy copy editor. Or is it headline editor?

I am fascinated with perceptions – it is one thing that drives me. Take risky behavior – no, not that kind of behavior, but everyday behavior (to some, perhaps they are thinking of the same thing).

Airplanes vs. Cars
We have millions of people who are afraid of flying in airplanes – heck, the insurance industry used to pray on people with kiosks, selling insurance to people like, er, me. I am about to get on a plane, and for a dollar, I can purchase insurance. Sort of like buying a lottery ticket, but instead of me living in the lap of luxury, I get to be buried in a Coffee can and my heirs get to live in the lap of luxury. Already, I do not like where my thoughts are going.

Getting back on point: millions of Americans are afraid of flying. But they think nothing of driving to the airport, and statistically, you are much more likely to be killed if you are behind the wheel of your own car than in the seat of an airplane. Well, if you have severe peanut allergies, perhaps the particles in the air at the moment 53 passengers open their complementary peanuts may cause your airway to close tightly, ending your life. But again, that is highly unlikely for most of us.

Lightning vs. Cooking
Another point – being killed by lightning. I am in a dark mood today. Lightning scares me – I admit it. If I hear lightning, I convince myself the next bolt is going to find me, causing massive damage to my hair and other body parts. God must like lightning, because I know I am more communicative during such lightning storms (oh, and God, if you are reading this and other comments, sorry about lusting after ~deb; we are just friends, okay?). But more people get killed in the kitchen – either cooking, getting stabbed by a wife/lover because you didn't bring home roses, whatever. It is a scientific fact. If you don't believe me, come over and I will cook for you. Perception verses reality – sometime is scary.

Lottery vs. Dead Rich Uncle Ed
Lots of us play the lottery. Heck, you can buy tickets when you are getting gas, buying condoms at a convenience store, or even going to some state fairs. Next, hookers are going to be selling those little $1 fantasies (I am talking about the lottery tickets, people).

But the chances of getting a winning lottery ticket (the millions winners, not the $3 winners) is well, really small. Otherwise, all of us would fill our retirement funds with lottery tickets/winnings. Most of us don't know all of our family, right. So the chance of you having a long lost Uncle Ed kick the bucket and give his entire fortune to you, his second cousin, twice removed, is about as likely. And it doesn't cost you a dollar.

Perception verses reality – the third example sort of sucked, but you know, I just ran out of steam. Actually, the second example was not that hot either.

One other thing worth considering – and I saw this on a graph once. The graph depicted number of deaths and cause of death – basically showing how risky certain things were. "Being in a hospital" was much more risky than most other things – airplane travel (unless your last name is Kennedy), knife juggling, even eating raw fish (known as sushi for all of you California types). Two side notes: (1) I understand that just being in a hospital is not the dangerous part; we are talking about being a patient (the deaths were attributed to "hospital error" not disease state), and (2) I may have mis-remembered some of the risks highlighted in the graph. Give me a break, it wasn't like I thought I would ever need that kernel of knowledge in the future.

So hug babies, juggle knives, eat cold pizza, and ride on airplanes. They are a lot safer than the good ol' morning commute that we perform 200 or so days per year.