> This is how a whole lot of people seek out happiness, by being "right" in their social circles, especially in a way that shows them as superior to large groups

And apparently they do this instinctively, without reflecting about it or understanding what they're doing (they do it also when it gives a silly impression, at least on me). It's hardwired in the brain I'd think

mikem170:

> Risk assessment isn't one of our stong suits, either

Long ago, in a hunter gatherer tribe, almost everything bad that you ever got to hear about, could happen to you too? So there was no need for the brain to get good at risk assessment -- just assuming that everything was "deadly dangerous" made sense, evolutionary?

Doesn't scale up well, with news from the whole planet