A Foolish Consistency

Bruce Schneier’s sensible observations on security are always worth reading. Sometimes his observations resonate more deeply, such as this commentary in Wired: Virginia Tech Lesson: Rare Risks Breed Irrational Responses. After the Virginia Tech shootings I wrote in Sense and Senselessness about the urge to “do something” after horrific events and how both pro- and anti-gun control advocates both seized these shootings to promote their respective agendas. Schneier makes the same points in a pithy and clear-eyed overview of this phenomenon, coining this formula: “Novelty plus dread equals overreaction.”