If you could make all 7.5 billion people on Earth sit down and read a book of your choosing, what book do you choose and why?

First give me time to write it.

It would be an optimistic book. One which points out what’s wrong with the world today but which suggests how we can fix things.

It would require a different political system. One which fulfills the needs of the people rather than the profits of the rich. It would mean raising the living standards of the poor. That would lead to more industry and higher profits while also reducing crime.

It would draw attention to the fear that we needlessly face. For example you are ten times as likely to drown while taking a bath as you are to be killed by a terrorist.

It would point out that evolution has engineered us to be nice to each other. We work together better to improve things - that has survival value, rather than work against each other. We hear a lot about the ‘bad’ because our media considers bad news is more interesting. Bad news generates fear. Fear makes us demand action. Idiot politicians pander to this and their actions generate more bad news.

Sorry religion - you would be required to justify your existence. It’s not enough for you to defend your ‘faith’. Let’s look at ‘faith’ in terms of what it really means - a belief which does not depend on evidence, one which is not open to reason and discussion. Faith has no right to being secure from being questioned. Faith can’t move mountains but we’ve seen what it can do to skyscrapers. We may blame the Islamic faith for acts of terrorism but other religions cannot say their ‘faithful’ followers did not carry out brutal acts.

The book would draw attention to how we are damaging our planet and suggest ways we can fix this. We cannot continue to treat finite resources as though they were infinite. We need those resources to look further for new resources and we are unlikely to find those on earth.

Instead of war I would propose we work together on expansion into the last frontier. Space. We must colonize space to ensure the survival of our species. Certainly we can look to the moon and Mars but that’s NOT enough. We need to move further to the stars. When we do so we should take with us all the lifeforms we can collect. When we have moved out a radius of 30 light years from earth, then and only then can we think of Earth’s life being secure.

Is this all a pipe dream? It is until we make the effort to start.

What is LESS dangerous than a terrorist?

Have you ever wondered what is LESS dangerous than a terrorist? 

After considerable research I can tell you. The information is compiled from National Vital Statistics on deaths

Trivial death risks

• Killed as a passenger on a train - odds 1 in 10,300,000
• Killed by explosion of pressurised vessels such as a pressure cooker or tire - odds 1 in 10,700,000
• Killed by being struck by a person - that's being fallen on or bumping into them not fistfights - odds 1 in 11,000,000
• Killed by being bitten by a dog - odds 1 in 16,000,000
• Killed by being bitten or stung by a bug other than bees,wasps or spiders - 1 in 22,150,000
• Killed by ignition of nightwear - odds 1 in 22,150,000
• Killed by excessive  man-made heat or cold e.g. trapped in a freezer - odds 1 in 28,800,000
• Killed by venomous spiders - odds 1 in 28,800,000
• Killed by a flood - odds 1 in 32,000,000
• Killed by unintentional firearms discharge (You intended to fire a blank) - odds 1 in 57,600,000
• Killed by explosion of fireworks - odds 1 in 57,600,000
• Killed while occupant of street car - odds 1 in 72,000,000
• Killed by contact with venomous snakes - odds 1 in 96,000,000
• Killed by a vending machine - odds 1 in 112,000,000
• Killed by shark attack - odds 1 in 264,100,000
• Killed by rabies in USA - odds 1 in 880,000,000
• Killed by a meteor - odds 1 in 765,000,000,000,000,000

Terrorism with a risk of 1 in 9,300,000 is more dangerous than all of these but terrorism is LESS dangerous than this list:

• Earthquakes - odds 1 in 9,290,000
• Scalding by hot water - odds 1 in 8,200,000
• Riding on a bus - odds 1 in 7,200,000
• Stung by hornets, wasps and bees - odds 1 in 5,300,00
• Cave-ins or falling earth - odds 1 in 5,000,000
• Storms - odds 1 in 4,500,000
• Lightning - odds 1 in 4,300,000
• Legal execution in the USA - odds 1 in 4,300,000
• Bitten by mammals other than dogs - odds 1 in 3,800,000
• Falling from high place - odds 1 in 2,800,000
• Overexertion, travel and privation - odds 1 in 2,250,000
• Accidental firearm discharge - odds 1 in 1,200,000
• Drowning in bath tub - odds 1 in 800,000
• Alcohol - odds 1 in 800,000
• Falling from a ladder - odds 1 in 700,000
• Falling from a building - odds 1 in 520,000
• Drowning in a swimming pool - odds 1 in 450,000
• Tripping/slipping at same level - odds 1 in 450,000
• Falling off a bycycle - odds 1 in 375,000
• Falling out of bed! - odds 1 in 370,000
• Death at your office desk - odds 1 in 140,000
• Riding a motor cycle - odds 1 in 90,000
• Accidental poisoning - odds 1 in 86,000
• Assault by firearm USA - odds 1 in 24,000

The real risks to your life

All of these pale into insignificance when compared with the real risks to your life:

• Heart disease - odds 1 in 3
• Cancer - odds 1 in 5 (and falling)
• Strokes - odds 1 in 20
• Respiratory disease - odds 1 in 20 (more if you smoke) 
• Diabetes - odds 1 in 30
• Alzheimer's disease - odds 1 in 31 (and rising)

Despite spending billions on a trivial risk - remember falling out of bed is 25 times more dangerous than terrorism - we seem unable to stop it. We could easily cut the risk of heart disease though by just educating people to eat less and exercise more often. The cost in terms of health education advertisements would be trivial compared with the arms budget.

Why doesn't this happen? Why are we so concerned about terrorism?

I suspect the real answer is greed. Not from people overeating but the greed of people who make fortunes persuading people to fight each other. Those who finance, make and supply arms and munitions. For their profit:

• They need to persuade people that terrorism is a serious threat to their lives. 
• They need religious leaders to be at odds with each other. 
• They need preachers of hate to stir up fear in the weak willed, easily led people. 
• They need the media to focus on trivialities and stir up the paranoia which sells their stories.
• They need politicians to be coerced by lobbyist enticements and forced into stupid actions by ill-informed electorates.

We are fighting the wrong people!
Our target should not be the morons but the men in suits ultimately behind them.