and has a new book entitled scream, chilling adventures in the science sphere. the main science as i understand it is our ancestors heard sound, wrestling and may be worried that it was with the wind in one worried that it was a tiger and ran. the one that didn t run didn t get give birth to us. margee: exactly. time is done a good job is forming our threat requirements and her sensitivity that could potentially hurt us. so we are very sensitive to startle and very sensitive to things that have historically opposed a lot of harm. john: now the world is much safer so a lot of this quick response to fear isn t useful anymore. there are sort of a mismatch because a lot of the things that we are afraid of today are not the same as they were thousands of years ago. we are not very likely to be attacked by a bear. we have got all of these modern
falling down the steps. john: drowning in falling down the steps, that does kill lots of people. 3000 drowning, maybe 12,000 died on stairs. and cars, 35,000. nobody said i get nervous about getting into a car. margee: it is very frustrating honestly. we worry about the wrong stuff. today we get in our car and we text and drive and we are not thinking oh my this is how it could end up being hurt. john: more than anything else. margee: that s when we should be sort of acting afraid. john: thank you. coming up the hysteria about crime. how many people have to die before we actually at? john: later in the show we will
i don t know it s just a thrill. there s something exciting about getting scared. it it boosts your adrenaline and you were screaming because you know it s not real. john: we found only one person who did not like it. why did you come here tonight? i don t know. i wish i never did. it s the scariest experience of my life. john: c. was the exception. most people like it, this place where you were? margee: people who are going to haunted house probably know they re going to enjoy it and want that type of experience. john: when you call it a haunted house you don t really think it s haunted. margee: i have the study at scare house and we measure people before, during and after they go through this experience to see how it changes them. john: would e-learning? margee: for those who do choose that it s benefiting them.
i fear clowns and spiders. i don t really like clowns. john: why would people fear clowns? margee: clowns have traits that are fundamentally upsetting. first they have these painted on expressions. big eyebrows but their face doesn t always match that said that creates a dissonance in our minds and we just don t really want to approach because we depend so much on being able to read out a language. john: these people in times square were not that unusual. lots of people fear clowns? margee: many people today are growing up with a clown is a monster. their first introduction to clowns is through a horror movie. john: in times square at least some people express more rational views. my biggest fear is drowning. i fear drowning and heights.
they rate their mood before and afterwards and afterwards they feel better. john: why? margee: you have a chemical cascade preparing her body to be strong and endorphins and dopamine and all these things are feeling good periods for some people that could be a draw too. john: i assume scare house was totally new but in the 17th century i think we have a picture the russians were doing something similar? margee: the precursor to the rollercoaster and e there you have it. we have been seeking that feeling forever. john: when we in the news business talk about fear we access about things that might kill us. crime, terrorism and we will talk about that later in the show but i was surprised in times square most people did not ring up physical threats. what do you fear? what do i really fear? failure is a big one.