What's really worth worrying about?

The Daily Mail, on the 7th May 2008, had an interesting article about a new book that looks at the things that threaten us, our fears about them and ranks them from a statistical point of view. The article said,

Their ratings work out the risk of an event as the likelihood of its happening multiplied by the impact if it does. For the panic rating, events are scored on how real the threat is, compared to how worried we have become.

It then lists the events and gives scores to the real risk level and the perceived panic level. The ratings are out of 10. The events and their ratings are as follows.

Being hit by an asteroid
Risk: 2
Panic: 4

Car crashes
Risk: 8
Panic: 6

Pension time bomb
Risk: 10
Panic: 6

Meeting an alien
Risk: 2
Panic: 4

Having a mental breakdown
Risk: 4
Panic: 10

Rising sea levels
Risk: 6
Panic: 8

Radiation poisoning
Risk: 4
Panic: 8

So it looks like people are over worrying about being hit by an asteroid, meeting an alien, having a mental breakdown, rising sea levels and radiation poisoning. But people are not fearful enough about car crashes and the pension time bomb.

If you add the values up, the real risks total 36 and the panic levels total 46. It would seem people over panic a little.

The book is “Panicology” by Simon Briscoe and Hugh Aldersey-Williams.