A closer look
Judging the likelihood of an event based entirely on how easily an example comes to mind is a mental shortcut known as the availability heuristic. Because news networks relentlessly broadcast rare shark attacks and terrifying plane crashes, your brain falsely assumes these highly dramatic events are a constant, everyday threat to your personal safety. Meanwhile, you happily drive your car while eating a sandwich and texting, completely ignoring the fact that mundane traffic accidents are statistically vastly more likely to end your existence. Your critical thinking skills are entirely hostage to whatever sensationalist garbage you recently scrolled past on your social media feed. This cognitive flaw ensures we spend vast amounts of emotional energy terrified of highly unlikely cinematic disasters while completely neglecting the boring lifestyle habits that are actually destroying our health
