The Availability Heuristic

> In 1973, Tversky and Kahneman discovered something uncomfortable.

> When your brain estimates how common something is, it doesn't check the data.

> It checks how easily examples come to mind.

> Shark attacks? Easy to imagine. Falls from bed? Not so much.

> The result: your sense of what's dangerous is shaped by what gets covered, not what actually kills people.

> I have 8 causes of death. Estimate the annual toll for each.

> I'll show you how much media has warped your perception.