John the Pom
Contributor
Yeah, but that's not how risk is measured. A lot of drownings happen at the beach in summer, but that doesn't mean that you're safer swimming off a rock platform in the winter.
Getting injured in a traffic accident is a well-quantified risk, because unfortunately we have a lot of data! Five possible shark bites over a couple of years doesn't tell you anything. It may well be just a statistical fluctuation, but it gets used to justify lethal control measures like drum lines, which kill a lot of harmless creatures and degrade the environment. Sydney still nets its beaches, killing marine mammals, turtles, etc. without a shred of real evidence that it makes the beaches safer - all because of the unscientific hysteria that happens when anyone suggests getting rid of them. But people are happy to drive to the beach and lie around all day without proper sun protection - both activities that are at least 1000x more likely to kill or injure them and their children than a shark bite.
Most people don't understand probability and risk. If they did, there wouldn't be a gambling industry.
