"walking alone at night" is a decent fear for anyone depending on where they live. All the other options ? They are either statistically improbable (mass shooting), materialistic, or not even real.
I'd say it's a pretty good record for our shitty civilization, that most fears in the list are so removed from basic life-sustaining issues. On the other end, it's pretty bad to see people obsess about those petty things, and ignore the real threats to well-being, whether inhaled, ingested, accidental, or self-inflicted...
Starting Score:
1
point
Moderation
+1
Interesting=1,
Total=1
Extra 'Interesting' Modifier
0
Karma-Bonus Modifier
+1
Total Score:
3
(Score: 2) by zocalo on Saturday October 25 2014, @09:28AM
Exactly my thought when I first saw the story that led to this poll. Many of the things that we are most afraid of are apparently things that can't actually do us any physical harm, and what damage they can do (psychological, financial, etc.) can almost certainly be limited and/or shrugged off with a suitably thick skin and a little forethought. Not sure whether that's a sign of progress or a sad reflection on how neurotic some us are getting...
Now "Spe" on the otherhand, well that really freaks me out and completely stopped my inner Grammar Nazi in its tracks after reading the previous option. I had to have a stiff drink just to click on the option and another one before I could manage to click "Vote"... ;)
what damage they can do (psychological, financial, etc.) can almost certainly be limited and/or shrugged off with a suitably thick skin and a little forethought.
The ongoing long term economic decline finally catches me, so there's me and my family, homeless and jobless and no medical care. In the long run thats probably how I'm going out. In the long run thats probably the end game for "most of us" here on SN, just the date will vary a little bit. Glad to know it only takes a little forethought to avoid that, wouldn't want to think too much.
Watching my country turn into a real world implementation of 1984 / brave new world isn't all that much of a picnic either.
Becoming a victim of the on-going financial decline wasn't one of the default options I was referrring to though, was it? The only two options that potentially could result in a tangible financial loss are the second two; identity theft and safety on the Internet, both of which have a wide range of options to at least limit any damage. That these came out as the biggest fears in the *original survey* (that presumably led to SN posting the poll), over much more damaging and likely eventualities such as those you suggest, was my whole point.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bob_super on Friday October 24 2014, @09:10PM
"walking alone at night" is a decent fear for anyone depending on where they live.
All the other options ? They are either statistically improbable (mass shooting), materialistic, or not even real.
I'd say it's a pretty good record for our shitty civilization, that most fears in the list are so removed from basic life-sustaining issues.
On the other end, it's pretty bad to see people obsess about those petty things, and ignore the real threats to well-being, whether inhaled, ingested, accidental, or self-inflicted...
(Score: 2) by zocalo on Saturday October 25 2014, @09:28AM
Now "Spe" on the otherhand, well that really freaks me out and completely stopped my inner Grammar Nazi in its tracks after reading the previous option. I had to have a stiff drink just to click on the option and another one before I could manage to click "Vote"... ;)
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by VLM on Sunday October 26 2014, @08:22PM
what damage they can do (psychological, financial, etc.) can almost certainly be limited and/or shrugged off with a suitably thick skin and a little forethought.
The ongoing long term economic decline finally catches me, so there's me and my family, homeless and jobless and no medical care. In the long run thats probably how I'm going out. In the long run thats probably the end game for "most of us" here on SN, just the date will vary a little bit. Glad to know it only takes a little forethought to avoid that, wouldn't want to think too much.
Watching my country turn into a real world implementation of 1984 / brave new world isn't all that much of a picnic either.
(Score: 2) by zocalo on Sunday October 26 2014, @09:41PM
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by VLM on Monday October 27 2014, @11:29AM
Oh I was thinking about the fun of the "other" option.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 27 2014, @03:40PM
> Watching my country turn into a real world implementation of 1984 / brave new world isn't all that much of a picnic either.
UK? Australia? NZ? USA? Canada? Hong Kong? It's as though the former British Empire has gone mad all at once.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday October 30 2014, @06:52PM
I read "Other: Spe" as a continuation of the joke where anyone who invokes Candlejack suddenly disappears mid-se
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"