Terrorists And Traffic Accidents, Ctd

Schneier joins the debate.

Yes, the risks are different. Your personal chance of dying in a car accident depends on where you live, how much you drive, whether or not you drink and drive, and so on. But your personal chance of dying in a terrorist attack also depends on these sorts of things: where you live, how often you fly, what you do for a living, and so on. (There's also a control bias at work: we underestimate the risk in situations where we're in control, or think we're in control -- like driving -- and overestimate the risks in situations where we're not in control.) But as a nation we get to set our priorities, and decide how to spend our money. No one is suggesting we ignore the risks of terrorism -- and making people feel safe is a good thing to do -- but it makes no sense to focus so much effort and money on it when there are far worse risks to Americans.