The note below is from the The Meme Pool. As its creator says: The purpose of THE MEME POOL newsletter is to forward articles that 'deserve' to replicate. They have been selected on the basis of their value to those who study the future. I.e. the articles describe a trend, a discontinuity, a paradigm shift or a contrarian view. ____________________________________________
If you find the newsletter interesting, pass it along to your colleagues. If you have received this from someone other than me and would like to be put on the list, just send me an e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Raymond Bouchard Drachma-Denarius Applied Futures Research and Strategic Planning #143 - 2111 Montreal Road Ottawa, Ontario K1J 8M8 (613) 745-9520 RISK ASSESSMENT Perception Equals Reality Long before September 11, public panics were widespread - on everything from GM crops to mobile phones, from global warming to foot-and-mouth. One of the key points Frank Furedi makes in his book 'Culture of Fear' is that perceptions of risk, ideas about safety and controversies over health, the environment and technology have little to do with science or empirical evidence. Rather, they are shaped by cultural assumptions about human vulnerability. The random nature of such perceptions is an obvious difficulty in technology forecasting. But far greater difficulties are created in the public policy arena. Speculating about risk gives rise to hypothetical problems that may be just as expensive to mitigate as real problems. http://www.spiked-online.com/articles/00000002D46C.htm
