Risk cover art

Risk

Why Smart People Have Dumb Accidents - And What We Can Learn From Them

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Risk

By: Steve Casner
Narrated by: Steve Casner
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About this listen

Previously published as Careful!

The modern world can be a dangerous place, filled with fast cars, smart phones, drugs and extreme sports. Meanwhile, we humans are as fragile as ever. In fact, after a century of decline in injuries and accidental deaths they are on the rise again. The question is – why?

Steve Casner has devoted his career to studying the psychology of safety, and he knows that there’s not a safety warning we won't ignore, or a fool-proof device we can't turn into an implement of disaster.

Based on years of research and understanding of human behavior learnt as a research psychologist, Risk is the definitive user-guide to avoiding everyday calamity. It will help us understand why we behave in such contradictory ways – insisting on fat-free salad dressing but then texting while driving – and explain the psychological traps that can lead us to the scene of an accident. By showing us how and when injuries happen, we learn what we should really be worrying about.

Helping to keep our fingers attached in the kitchen, our children afloat at the pool and teenagers safe behind the wheel, Casner shows us all the ways we can take control of our own safety and get through the day in one piece.

 Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science Social Psychology & Interactions Mental Health Health Injury

Critic reviews

Casner convincingly argues that we all need to make a habit of being more careful. A scientist and a natural storyteller, he takes the studies, data, and safety advice we usually tune out and turns it into gripping, page-turning material. This is a how-to-guide for a new way of thinking about survival in a world filled with hazards and distractions. (Charles Duhigg, author of Smarter Faster Better and The Power of Habit)
Steve Casner is an authority on human behaviour, especially in the interaction with the ever-increasing automated systems of the modern world. He works at NASA where he is an expert in aviation safety, but he has extended his range of expertise far beyond that of airplanes...An excellent writer.
We can all relate to Steve’s blooper reel of everyday ways we hurt ourselves. Careful provides enough science and data to blow you away, but the real-life stories will have you laughing. This helpful book just might save your life. (Deborah Hersman, president of the U.S. National Safety Council and former chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board)
A terrifying primer on the absurd and humiliating dangers of daily life
All stars
Most relevant
Steve has a great way with putting over his ideas, bringing them to life with stories and examples which grab you.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book.

How to make risk interesting

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An astonishing exposition which is compelling and yet fully understands the human condition. Highly recommended. Actually, it should probably be compulsory listening for all of us!

Making safety sexy

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