14. Fear
Fear evolved in human beings in
response to concrete stimuli in concrete situations. Our visceral emotion of
fear is not attuned to deal with remote, general, or abstract risks. In fact,
when it comes to remote risks, fear works against us, because it motivates us
not to consider them, as the prospect is vaguely scary, but not terrifying
enough to make us actually care. An example would be when a man refuses to get
a medical analysis of a bump on his prostate because he is afraid that
something malignant will be found.