Suspect and Fear

While we try to separate knowledge from suspicion and fear we do not wish to undervalue the latter. Fear has been an effective motivator and has enabled our species to survive dangerous circumstances. Consider its relationship to knowledge in the following example.

Knowledge "I know my son was killed on the highway."

Fear 10 minutes previously I could have said "My 2 year old son is playing on the highway and I fear he will be struck by a car. He may be killed."

Waiting for knowledge My response could be 'I will carry out further research to determine how often cars travel on this highway, what speed they are going, and how soon my son is likely to be struck.'

Responding to fear My response would probably be to rush to remove him from the highway, with force if necessary, as quickly as possible.

Modern human beings appear worse at evaluating risks according to their probability. We legislate to avoid quite minor risks in comparison with the major dangers which are now indicated.