Right. It's so much less deadly when it wasn't the product of suicidally stupid choices by humans.
What's really funny is this flies in the face of typical human patterns of behavior where we obsess about longshot disasters we can't control, like catastrophic plane wrecks, and go "meh" about things that are much more likely that we can control, like the much higher risk of dying or being maimed in a car wreck.
Like, never checked the safety brochures, or looked if the safety vests are where they are supposed to be, or never listened to preflight safety instructions? I always do that, and also try to book seats close to exits.
I mean out of boredom, or being a captive audience, yes I’ve watched… but I’ve never selected an airplane seat based on reducing risk in event of an emergency or crash. Or checked for the vest. I do however verify my safety situation when I’m in automobiles. Same escalation of risk/control applies to me when on a bicycle as well.
> where we obsess about longshot disasters we can't control
Wait, you seriously think a comet impact in the next 100 years is much more likely than mass extinction from warming planet? Comet impact IS the longshot disaster we can't control, and you are the one obsessing about it. Fossil fuels, and all the reasons why we don't just stop digging them up today, are totally in our control, and the time is ticking.
I think the point was more that it makes sense to worry about something of our own creation which we have, at least in theory, some control over and power to change, than about something that comes from outside with more force than we can handle.
What's really funny is this flies in the face of typical human patterns of behavior where we obsess about longshot disasters we can't control, like catastrophic plane wrecks, and go "meh" about things that are much more likely that we can control, like the much higher risk of dying or being maimed in a car wreck.