 Last week, Brian Sigmund-Fischer joined Risk Buys to talk about what makes us feel more or less at risk. Today it's time for part two of Risky Feelings. Okay, Brian, last week you mentioned that we feel more scared of unfamiliar risks than familiar risks. Right. You also mentioned that there's something else that affects how we feel about risk. That's right. Another factor that changes how we feel about risk is dread. Okay. It's a bit hard to describe, but we know that some types of risk are the kind that we dread and some are not. You mean dread is in that sinking feeling you get in the pit of your stomach sometimes? Yep. That's it. Got it. So, take caffeine for example. Oh, I take plenty of it. Consider caffeine. There are certainly some risks with caffeine consumption. Yep. You can definitely take too much and, for example, get jittery or hyperactive. That's me. And some people get withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking it. Okay. But the risks of caffeine are fairly easy to control and reduce. You just stop drinking coffee or tea or energy drinks. That's easier said than done. Yeah, true, true. The point is, the risks associated with caffeine are not very bad. They go away pretty quickly. And my drinking coffee doesn't impose a risk on anyone but me. So we don't dread risks like the risk of caffeine. Well then, what do we dread? Catastrophic uncontrollable risks. Things like releases of radiation from damaged nuclear power plants or chemical warfare or pandemic deadly diseases like smallpox or bubonic plague. You're scaring me now. Well, these are risks that could hurt or kill a lot of people at one time. Yeah. They're risks that don't just affect us but could affect future generations as well. So I must confess, I don't like any of these risks. Nobody does. But even if they don't actually happen very often, we tend to be really afraid of them. So our feelings about risks come from both how much we know about the risk and whether the risk is something we dread. That's right. And those risky feelings can have a big impact on how we decide to deal with risk. Yeah. I'll be back on future episodes of Risk Bites to talk more about risk and feelings. But until then, stay safe and feel safe too.