I agree that people are bad at estimating risk, but I would also argue that the reason many people live long enough to become cancer victims is because of this freaking out.
The reason people live so long is because we went all-in on fossil fuels through the 1800s, 1900s and early 2000s. Our long lives and high living standards are pretty much all flow-ons from cheap energy.
The people who prioritise 0-risk living over energy security are self defeating; but the problem is they keep trying to take the rest of us down with them. Their victory against nuclear energy might technically be one of the biggest catastrophes to ever hit humanity. We have never been hit by something else with so high an opportunity cost in absolute terms. Blind and ignorant fear is no basis for making policy decisions.
Right, but you're describing the process of an open-minded person.
For the fuckwits in any given electorate, your maxim would be better phrased as "default to not having any fucking opinion at all on that of which you know not"
