---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People today think of the world as a…"
description: "\"“People today think of the world as a uniquely dangerous place. It’s hard to follow the news without a mounting dread of terrorist attacks, a clash of ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/steven-pinker-526_clash-of-civilizatio_people-today-think-of-the-world-as-a-uni_1444404.jpg"
---

#  People today think of the world as a uniquely dangerous…

![“People today think of the world as a uniquely dangerous place. It’s hard to follow the news without a mounting dread of terrorist attacks, a clash of civilizations, and the use of weapons of mass destruction. But we are apt to forget the dangers that filled the news a few decades ago, and to be…” quote by Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/steven-pinker-526_clash-of-civilizatio_people-today-think-of-the-world-as-a-uni_1444404.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/steven-pinker-526_clash-of-civilizatio_people-today-think-of-the-world-as-a-uni_1444404.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/steven-pinker-526_clash-of-civilizatio_people-today-think-of-the-world-as-a-uni_1444404.jpg)

> ““People today think of the world as a uniquely dangerous place. It’s hard to follow the news without a mounting dread of terrorist attacks, a clash of civilizations, and the use of weapons of mass destruction. But we are apt to forget the dangers that filled the news a few decades ago, and to be blasé about the good fortune that so many of them have fizzled out.””

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People overestimate modern threats and underestimate past dangers, forgetting that many feared catastrophes never materialized.

**In simple terms:** We fear current dangers more than past ones.

Key Takeaway

Recognize historical context to reduce fear.

Themes

perception risk history media psychology

Mood

anxious reflective

Type

analytical informative

When to use this quote

- news consumption
- policy making
- personal anxiety
- education
- public discourse

Key Concepts

cognitive bias availability heuristic optimism bias

Questions to Reflect On

- How does media shape our sense of danger?
- What past threats have faded without incident?

A Different Perspective

Historical data shows many predicted catastrophes never occurred.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Clash of civilizations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clash-of-civilizations/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [News](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [Weapons of mass destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons-of-mass-destruction/)

## Related quotes

> [In the 1970s, 'The Boys on the Bus' exposed how a clubby pack of male political reporters ruled the road to the White House…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/in-the-1970s-the-boys-on-the-bus-exposed-how-a-clubby-pack-of-male/)

[Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/)

> [Europe embraces new ideas in transportation like no other region in the world and is uniquely positioned to take the next great leap in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shervin-pishevar/europe-embraces-new-ideas-in-transportation-like-no-other-region-in/)

[Shervin Pishevar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shervin-pishevar/)

> [I hate the tribal hatred thesis - in Yugoslavia and Rwanda and places like that they kill each other because that's just what people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/i-hate-the-tribal-hatred-thesis-in-yugoslavia-and-rwanda-and-places/)

[Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/)

> [Too many people think that the faith line divides Muslims and Christians or Jews and Hindus, or just to say that there is this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eboo-patel/too-many-people-think-that-the-faith-line-divides-muslims-and/)

[Eboo Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eboo-patel/)

> [I do not think there is such a thing as a "clash of civilizations." When I say that Muslims as Muslims cannot be represented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/i-do-not-think-there-is-such-a-thing-as-a-clash-of-civilizations-when/)

[Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/)

> [There can be no true friends without true enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dibdin/there-can-be-no-true-friends-without-true-enemies/)

[Michael Dibdin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dibdin/)

> [To speak specifically of our problem with the Muslim world, we are meandering into a genuine clash of civilizations, and we're deluding ourselves with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/to-speak-specifically-of-our-problem-with-the-muslim-world-we-are/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [We don't have a great clash of civilizations, a clash of ideologies, a clash of alternative models, where governments thought to themselves, if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-don-t-have-a-great-clash-of-civilizations-a-clash-of-ideologies-a/)

[Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/)

> [“It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/it-is-my-hypothesis-that-the-fundamental-source-of-conflict-in-this/)

[Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/)

> [Accepting Turkey as a member of the European club means that the club is open to outsiders, to Muslims, to poorer people, to developing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mango/accepting-turkey-as-a-member-of-the-european-club-means-that-the-club/)

[Andrew Mango](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mango/)

> [Promises controversy on a scale not seen since Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations sought to reframe a new world order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-halper/promises-controversy-on-a-scale-not-seen-since-samuel-huntington-s/)

Stefan Halper

> [I know a lot of Americans in Paris who have married Frenchmen. They keep bringing up their experience, the clash of civilizations, the clash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-caron/i-know-a-lot-of-americans-in-paris-who-have-married-frenchmen-they/)

[Leslie Caron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-caron/)

> [Our expanding ethnic diversity of this century, a time when we will all be minorities, offers us an invitation to create a larger memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-takaki/our-expanding-ethnic-diversity-of-this-century-a-time-when-we-will/)

[Ronald Takaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-takaki/)

> [Let America be America, where equality is in the air we breathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/let-america-be-america-where-equality-is-in-the-air-we-breathe/)

[Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/)

> [ I can hardly believe what these 12 caricatures \[about Prophet Muhammad\] have caused in the world. We Danes feel like we have been placed… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-fogh-rasmussen/i-can-hardly-believe-what-these-12-caricatures-about-prophet-muhammad/)

[Anders Fogh Rasmussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-fogh-rasmussen/)

## More by Steven Pinker

> [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [Consistent style prevents presentation from getting in the way of content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/consistent-style-prevents-presentation-from-getting-in-the-way-of/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [I've never argued that humans are massively hot-wired. What I was trying to point out was that you can't understand how we learn unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-ve-never-argued-that-humans-are-massively-hot-wired-what-i-was/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [As many political writers have pointed out, commitment to political equality is not an empirical claim that people are clones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-out-commitment-to-political/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [Since violence is largely a male pastime, cultures that empower women tend to move away from the glorification of violence and are less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/since-violence-is-largely-a-male-pastime-cultures-that-empower-women/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [Morality is not just any old topic in psychology but close to our conception of the meaning of life. Moral goodness is what gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/morality-is-not-just-any-old-topic-in-psychology-but-close-to-our/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [“The biblical story of the binding of Isaac shows that human sacrifice was far from unthinkable in the 1st millennium BCE. The Israelites boasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-biblical-story-of-the-binding-of-isaac-shows-that-human-sacrifice/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [Part of the bargain of being alive is that one takes a chance at dying a premature or painful death, be it from violence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/part-of-the-bargain-of-being-alive-is-that-one-takes-a-chance-at/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [In fact, without a specification of a creature's goals, the very idea of intelligence is meaningless. A toadstool could be given a genius award…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-fact-without-a-specification-of-a-creature-s-goals-the-very-idea/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-of-human-intuition-in-a/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [If you look in general at people who live in anarchy, they have quite high rates of death from either homicide or warfare or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/if-you-look-in-general-at-people-who-live-in-anarchy-they-have-quite/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [“In some eras, self-control defines the paragon of a decent person: a grown-up, a person of dignity, a lady or a gentleman, a mensch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-some-eras-self-control-defines-the-paragon-of-a-decent-person-a/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [Knowledge is a continuous fabric, in which ideas are connected to other ideas. Reason-free zones, in which people can assert arbitrary beliefs safe from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/knowledge-is-a-continuous-fabric-in-which-ideas-are-connected-to/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

[Explore all 495 Steven Pinker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

## More Clash of civilizations quotes

> [ I can hardly believe what these 12 caricatures \[about Prophet Muhammad\] have caused in the world. We Danes feel like we have been placed… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-fogh-rasmussen/i-can-hardly-believe-what-these-12-caricatures-about-prophet-muhammad/)

[Anders Fogh Rasmussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-fogh-rasmussen/)

> [Accepting Turkey as a member of the European club means that the club is open to outsiders, to Muslims, to poorer people, to developing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mango/accepting-turkey-as-a-member-of-the-european-club-means-that-the-club/)

[Andrew Mango](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mango/)

> [I hate the tribal hatred thesis - in Yugoslavia and Rwanda and places like that they kill each other because that's just what people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/i-hate-the-tribal-hatred-thesis-in-yugoslavia-and-rwanda-and-places/)

[Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/)

> [Let America be America, where equality is in the air we breathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/let-america-be-america-where-equality-is-in-the-air-we-breathe/)

[Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/)

> [Our expanding ethnic diversity of this century, a time when we will all be minorities, offers us an invitation to create a larger memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-takaki/our-expanding-ethnic-diversity-of-this-century-a-time-when-we-will/)

[Ronald Takaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-takaki/)

> [I know a lot of Americans in Paris who have married Frenchmen. They keep bringing up their experience, the clash of civilizations, the clash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-caron/i-know-a-lot-of-americans-in-paris-who-have-married-frenchmen-they/)

[Leslie Caron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-caron/)

> [Promises controversy on a scale not seen since Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations sought to reframe a new world order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-halper/promises-controversy-on-a-scale-not-seen-since-samuel-huntington-s/)

Stefan Halper

> [“It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/it-is-my-hypothesis-that-the-fundamental-source-of-conflict-in-this/)

[Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/)

> [We don't have a great clash of civilizations, a clash of ideologies, a clash of alternative models, where governments thought to themselves, if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-don-t-have-a-great-clash-of-civilizations-a-clash-of-ideologies-a/)

[Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/)

> [To speak specifically of our problem with the Muslim world, we are meandering into a genuine clash of civilizations, and we're deluding ourselves with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/to-speak-specifically-of-our-problem-with-the-muslim-world-we-are/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [There can be no true friends without true enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dibdin/there-can-be-no-true-friends-without-true-enemies/)

[Michael Dibdin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dibdin/)

> [I do not think there is such a thing as a "clash of civilizations." When I say that Muslims as Muslims cannot be represented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/i-do-not-think-there-is-such-a-thing-as-a-clash-of-civilizations-when/)

[Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/)

> [Too many people think that the faith line divides Muslims and Christians or Jews and Hindus, or just to say that there is this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eboo-patel/too-many-people-think-that-the-faith-line-divides-muslims-and/)

[Eboo Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eboo-patel/)

> [Fulla is the Arab world's answer to Barbie. Now, according to proponents of the clash of civilizations, Barbie and Fulla occupy these completely separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shereen-el-feki/fulla-is-the-arab-world-s-answer-to-barbie-now-according-to/)

[Shereen El Feki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shereen-el-feki/)

> [I do believe that the future of civilization belongs to those who would lay emphasis on working together instead of talking about clash of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manmohan-singh/i-do-believe-that-the-future-of-civilization-belongs-to-those-who/)

[Manmohan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manmohan-singh/)

[Browse all 31 Clash of civilizations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clash-of-civilizations/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“People today think of the world as a uniquely dangerous place. It’s hard to follow the news without a mounting dread of terrorist attacks, a clash of civilizations, and the use of weapons of mass destruction. But we are apt to forget the dangers that filled the news a few decades ago, and to be blasé about the good fortune that so many of them have fizzled out.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Steven Pinker"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/people-today-think-of-the-world-as-a-uniquely-dangerous-place-it-s/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Clash of civilizations"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/people-today-think-of-the-world-as-a-uniquely-dangerous-place-it-s/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/steven-pinker-526_clash-of-civilizatio_people-today-think-of-the-world-as-a-uni_1444404.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/steven-pinker-526_clash-of-civilizatio_people-today-think-of-the-world-as-a-uni_1444404.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/steven-pinker-526_clash-of-civilizatio_people-today-think-of-the-world-as-a-uni_1444404.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“People today think of the world as a uniquely dangerous place. It’s hard to follow the news without a…” — Steven Pinker",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Steven Pinker",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“People today think of the world...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/people-today-think-of-the-world-as-a-uniquely-dangerous-place-it-s/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/people-today-think-of-the-world-as-a-uniquely-dangerous-place-it-s/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```