There are plenty of things to be afraid of. So choose carefully.

Fearing Well

There are plenty of things to be afraid of. So choose carefully.

Another year, another 365 days--wait, 366--in which things could go terribly, terribly wrong. But how? Identifying the most pressing threats turns out to be unexpectedly difficult. Psychologists say we innately misjudge risk, often becoming instinctively fixated on perceived threats (ощутимая угроза, ad. представляемая угроза) that aren't really hazardous while overlooking real dangers because they don't set off our subconscious alarm bells. People fear cell-phone radiation because it's a relatively new technology and the word radiation adds to the aura of invisible malevolence--yet numerous studies have found no convincing evidence of health risks. Parents' fear of vaccination actually ends up exposing kids to very real risk. And during flu season, we scrub our hands religiously, wrongly assuming that it combats sneeze-borne viruses.

Conversely, as the above matrix shows, there are things you need to fear more this year. But you won’t, since some threats consistently fail to set off our inner alarms, so we apt to endanger ourselves by overlooking them. Americans consistently underestimate the danger of driving. Why? Because we feel in control, which powerfully dampens fear. We also tend to overestimate our own competence - especially when we’re texting or talking on a cell phone while driving, which dramatically increases the odds (вероятность) that we’ll crash. Last year, more than 30,000 Americans died in car crashes, compared with zero in commercial air travel.

Do you control what you eat? Most Americans would say yes, but that opinion is largely the result of what psychologists call optimism bias. (заблуждение предрассудок ) (пристрастие) In reality most of us are overweight and getting fatter, undermining our health and cutting our life expectancy, The illusion of control prevents us from feeling the jolt of terror that might spark a behavioral change.

Americans don’t worry much about nuclear war anymore, even though the list of nuclear states is growing. “With current stockpiles, you could come close to wiping out humanity” says Charles Blair, a risk analyst at the Federation of American Scientists. The danger doesn’t register because of mental phenomenon called availability heuristic: we respond only two things that are easy to call to mind since the media hardly talk about nuclear war any more, we don’t easily imagine of fear the A-BOMB.

And thererain lies the problem the only thing we have to fear is the leg it self.

conversely gener. обратно; противоположно; наоборот; eng. Напротив,в противоположность чему-либо; и наоборот; с другой стороны

all are apt to trip всем свойственно ошибаться apt to склонный к be apt to иметь тенденцию

he is apt to succeed он вероятно будет иметь успех

feel at home in French хорошо владеть французским языком

feel belittled in the presence of чувствовать себя ничтожным в чьём-л. Присутствии

feel in gener. чувствовать себя участником или членом (чего-л.) испытывать чувство общности;

dampen a fire глушить пламя dampen appetite заглушать чувство голода, портить аппетит

odds n gener. вероятность; возможность; преимущество; превосходство (одной из сторон); разница; неравенство (иногда sing); остатки; разногласие; гандикап; шансы;

set off an alarm подать сигнал тревоги

hazardous adj gener. рискованный; опасный; азартный

perceived threat gener. ощутимая угроза, ad. представляемая угроза

overlook v gener. возвышаться (над городом, местностью и т. п.); смотреть сверху на (что-л.); обозревать; смотреть за (чем-л.); следить; не замечать; не обращать внимания; смотреть сквозь пальцы;

an aura of friendship атмосфера дружбы give an aura придавать ореол

he had about him an aura of greatness от него веяло величием the place had an aura of peace здесь все дышало миром

malevolence n gener. злорадство; недоброжелательность; злоба; злопыхательство

expose v gener. выставлять (солнца, ветра и т. п.); подвергать действию; подвергать

scrub v gener. чистить; скрести; мыться; мыть руки перед операцией; тереть; выполнять грязную работу; мыть щёткой; вычищать; чистить щёткой; отменять

bias n gener. уклон; наклон;; предубеждение; предвзятость; необъективность; смещение; пристрастие; косвенное влияние; проведённый и т. п. по косой линии; склонность; предрассудок

undermine gener. подкапывать; подмывать (берега); подрывать; разрушать; подтачивать;

prolonged overwork had undermined his health постоянная перегрузка работой подорвала его здоровье

life expectancy gener. средняя продолжительность жизни

jolt n gener. толчок; тряска; удар (тж. перен.); встряска; приход; приговор к тюремному заключению;

behavioral change av.med. изменение поведения

stockpiles n chem.weap. запасы econ. запас, запасы mechan. складские запасы

wipe out gener. смывать (обиду); уничтожить (противника и т. п.); вытирать (внутри); стереть с лица земли;

It's hardly a surprise that hypertension can kill you. What is less well known is that it can also age you--a lot. If your blood pressure is above 140/90 mm Hg--compared with the optimal 115/75--a whopping 12 years may be added to your real age. That puts you at increased risk not just of heart attack, stroke and renal failure but also of wrinkles and, if you're male, impotence.

For years, medication and lifestyle modification have been the baseline treatment for the 25% of Americans who are hypertensive, with some benefiting much more than others and some seeing little improvement at...

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