The question above, “How dangerous is taking a shower?”, seems almost laughable at first glance, but if you watch the video below, you will gain an understanding that risks are not always what they seem. As we live longer and longer, the odds become stacked against us and we must maintain our vigilance to avoid mishaps. The video below shows how scientist/author Jared Diamond learned this lesson from the tribes of Papua New Guinea.

If you want to read more about this, check out the post from Brain Pickings , Jared Diamond on the Root of Inequality and How the Mixed Blessings of “Civilization” Warped Our Relationship to Daily Risk, where I first encountered this concept and video.

The Risks of The Everyday – with Jared Diamond from The Royal Institution on Vimeo.

Below is the quote from the Vimeo website:

“Jared Diamond shares what he learnt about risk and everyday life from the tribes of Papua New Guinea. This was taken from a 2013 conversation, ‘The world until yesterday’. Watch the full discussion here: youtu.be/ceLuaf7low4

Pullitzer Prize-winner Jared Diamond discusses how insights from the lifestyles of far-removed cultures can impact the way we think about our own lives. Is it worth worrying about the risk of everyday actions like falling in the shower or tripping on the street? Each time you do these things, the risk of mishap is low, but we do them every single day. Over time, does that mean these tiny risks accumulate to become almost inevitable?

This animation was produced by Andrew Khosravani, thanks to generous support from the Sfumato Foundation.”