False Sense of Security

[Zinjanthropos]

Believing you are safe when you are not. Not necessarily life threatening decision moments but situations where you might not understand the implication of what you’re believing.

My question is: Does having a false sense of security make you more dangerous to yourself or to others?

[Syne]

A false sense of security can make any threats more dangerous, as they will likely catch you off guard and unprepared. This might be dangerous to others in your household or social circle, due to vulnerabilities you introduce from neglect, but I'm not sure it extends far beyond that.

Well...I guess a collective false sense of security can lead to giving up rights, like guns for self-defense, freedom of speech, etc.. But that takes a whole lot of individuals with that false security.

[Zinjanthropos]

A false sense of security can make any threats more dangerous, as they will likely catch you off guard and unprepared. This might be dangerous to others in your household or social circle, due to vulnerabilities you introduce from neglect, but I'm not sure it extends far beyond that.

Well...I guess a collective false sense of security can lead to giving up rights, like guns for self-defense, freedom of speech, etc.. But that takes a whole lot of individuals with that false security.

How about that little computational device that follows you around wherever you go? Has the cell phone/computer given people who otherwise didn't know squat the confidence to engage with those who are knowledgeable on a subject? Is a little knowledge or, heaven forbid, a whole lot of bullshit a dangerous thing?

[Syne]

A false sense of security can make any threats more dangerous, as they will likely catch you off guard and unprepared. This might be dangerous to others in your household or social circle, due to vulnerabilities you introduce from neglect, but I'm not sure it extends far beyond that.

Well...I guess a collective false sense of security can lead to giving up rights, like guns for self-defense, freedom of speech, etc.. But that takes a whole lot of individuals with that false security.

How about that little computational device that follows you around wherever you go? Has the cell phone/computer given people who otherwise didn't know squat the confidence to engage with those who are knowledgeable on a subject? Is a little knowledge or, heaven forbid, a whole lot of bullshit a dangerous thing?

Yeah, the power of misinformation can be dangerous.

[Zinjanthropos]

A false sense of security can make any threats more dangerous, as they will likely catch you off guard and unprepared. This might be dangerous to others in your household or social circle, due to vulnerabilities you introduce from neglect, but I'm not sure it extends far beyond that.

Well...I guess a collective false sense of security can lead to giving up rights, like guns for self-defense, freedom of speech, etc.. But that takes a whole lot of individuals with that false security.

How about that little computational device that follows you around wherever you go? Has the cell phone/computer given people who otherwise didn't know squat the confidence to engage with those who are knowledgeable on a subject? Is a little knowledge or, heaven forbid, a whole lot of bullshit a dangerous thing?

Yeah, the power of misinformation can be dangerous.

 Ya think.

Should skepticism be taught in schools? Take a look at the following. Sounds like it should be something I would like to hear but to be honest I have no idea who this guy is, if he has an agenda or just full of shit. I wonder if he can say his piece without asking for a donation. However this link isn't long. 

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/bias-...is-too-far

[Syne]

Schools use to promote critical thinking skills, but I doubt that's still a thing. The leftists largely in control of education can't stand to have their authority questioned, much like the media can't stand to have them calling the election questioned. It upsets their power.

[C C]

My question is: Does having a false sense of security make you more dangerous to yourself or to others?

There's no absolute or globally applicable answer -- it's contingent. Collateral damage can or will still matter to some degree, even if it's less than whatever harm the overconfident individual receives. Damage purely to reputation may have consequences resonating beyond the "foolish agent", if the latter has dependents (employees, family, constituents, etc).

A total social outcast who gets himself injured or killed via insufficient caution can have a minor effect on society. A hospital absorbs the costs of a homeless person (covered by the inflated prices it prepares in advance with for losses/litigation and passes on to insurers, paying patients, gov healthcare systems). The burial or cremation costs of an unclaimed body is ultimately picked-up by taxpayers and occasionally in part by unlucky funeral homes.

[Leigha]

It may cause people to take unnecessary risks or discount the severity of risks they’re taking, by having a false sense of security. George Zimmerman comes to mind - a guy who more than likely would not have followed a teenager through his neighborhood (whom he deemed as sketchy), and then provoking a fight with said teenager, if he (George) hadn’t been carrying a gun.

This isn’t to say all gun owners think like this, but it might be more common than we think.

[Syne]

It may cause people to take unnecessary risks or discount the severity of risks they’re taking, by having a false sense of security. George Zimmerman comes to mind - a guy who more than likely would not have followed a teenager through his neighborhood (whom he deemed as sketchy), and then provoking a fight with said teenager, if he (George) hadn’t been carrying a gun.

This isn’t to say all gun owners think like this, but it might be more common than we think.

Zimmerman was acquitted. And stand your ground laws allow you to go anywhere you're legally allowed, even following suspicious people, without any duty to flee from someone threatening you. Otherwise, your freedom is limited by anyone who threatens your safety. Those who trade freedom for safety deserve neither. No one knows, for a fact, that Zimmerman provoked anything.

Everyone should feel free to go anywhere in public without fear.

[Zinjanthropos]

It may cause people to take unnecessary risks or discount the severity of risks they’re taking, by having a false sense of security. George Zimmerman comes to mind - a guy who more than likely would not have followed a teenager through his neighborhood (whom he deemed as sketchy), and then provoking a fight with said teenager, if he (George) hadn’t been carrying a gun.

This isn’t to say all gun owners think like this, but it might be more common than we think.

Interesting because both may have had a false sense of security.