EBOOK Risk: A Very Short Introduction

We find risks everywhere--from genetically modified crops, medical malpractice,        and stem-cell therapy to intimacy, online predators, identity theft, inflation, and        robbery. They arise from our own acts and they are imposed on us. In this Very Short        Introduction, Baruch Fischhoff and John Kadvany draw on the sciences and humanities        to explore and explain the many kinds of risk. Using simple conceptual frameworks        from decision theory and behavioural research, they examine thescience and practice        of creating measures of risk, showing how scientists address risks by combining        historical records, scientific theories, probability, and expert judgment.Risk: A        Very Short Introduction describes what has been learned by cognitive scientists        about how people deal with risks, applyingthese lessons to diverse examples, and        demonstrating how understanding risk can aid choices in everyday life and public        policies for health, safety, environment, finance, and many other topics.