Hi all,
Does anyone out there know anything about a recent book
called "The Culture of Fear" written by a USC sociology
professor named Barry Glassner?
The local paper had a story centered around claims in the
book, and it looked like it might be an interesting resource
for class discussions on reasoning under uncertainty,
heuristics, critical thinking, violence, urban legends, and others.
However, before I go out and buy it, I thought I'd check here
for any cheers or jeers.
The gist of the article (and book, presumably) is that there is a
"Fear-Industrial-Complex" in this country, composed of
politicians, business, and media who erroneously portray the
U.S. as much more dangerous and violent than it is.
Some interesting stats reported from the book:
1) Between 1990 and 1998 the nation's murder rate dropped
by 20% while the number of murder stories on network news-
casts rose by 600% !!!
2) Postal employees are 2.5 times LESS likely than the average
worker to be killed on the job.
3) There's NEVER been a single confirmed death or injury
from poisoned Halloween candy since the scare first
surfaced in 1958.
Does anyone on the list know anything about Dr. Glassner
or the quality of his research?
-Mike
*****************************************************
Michael J. Kane
Psychology Department
Georgia State University
University Plaza
Atlanta, GA 30303-3083
phone: 404-651-0704
fax: 404-651-0753
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"It is morally as bad not to care whether a thing
is true or not, so long as it makes you feel good,
as it is not to care how you got your money as
long as you have it."
-- E.W. Teale
