Sure, but nobody here is talking about statistics. This article, this entire conversation, is about trust and confidence. I’m confident I can drive a car to the store and not die. Statistically, I’m more likely to die in an accident within a mile from my house, but that doesn’t stop me from driving in my neighborhood because I trust myself to drive. Accidents can happen anywhere to anyone, and there are a lot of other drivers to be worried about, but I can take steps to mitigate some of that risk. The higher chance of dying in my car doesn’t make anyone feel better about flying, it just makes you feel worse about driving. The two levels of trust are unrelated.

Like I know I have a higher chance of being killed by a deer. Statistically, deer kill a lot of people by causing car accidents, and they spread diseases. Wolves don’t kill anyone. Wolf attacke are extremely rare, and increasing the population of wolves in the wild would be very good for our North American ecosystems. But if I’m sitting in my backyard, and a wolf approaches from the left and a deer approaches from the right, I’m going to be worried about the wolf. Statistics don’t enter into the thought process.

I need to trust planes to board one. I have to drive my kids to school, so I have to get comfortable with the risk of getting behind the wheel. I don’t have to get on a Boeing airplane.