The Science of Fear

The question of why people fear the wrong things is the subject of Daniel Gardner's analysis of irrational fear. He explains how such fear springs from the ways humans miscalculate risk with brains shaped for hunter-gatherer life, and how gut reactions lead people astray. The book introduces the brain science of risk, with the cooperation of Paul Slovic, a pioneer of risk science, and other experts. Gardner sets modern fears against the fact that humans today are safer and healthier than at any time in history, and considers how the heightened fears that followed 9/11 interact with biologically driven responses. He argues that understanding irrational fear frees people from political and corporate manipulation. It was published in 2008.

Morgan Housel said it was the first book to show him how badly people interpret risk.