Your fear is smarter than you

Lynn Canyon Park in North Vancouver is popular for hiking. It is also popular for cliff jumping.

Lynn Creek flows along Lynn Canyon. It cuts and creates Lynn Canyon. Lynn Creek is mostly very shallow. Occasionally, a huge boulder dams the flow, creating a tiny deep pool, deep enough for some daredevils to jump into the tiny pool from the cliff.

If you are skilled enough, lucky enough, you’ll get a lot of satisfaction from cliff jumping. But if you are a little bit off the target, your tender flesh will smash onto the hard rock, or be cushioned only by a thin layer of water. You could die or get hurt badly. 

On those popular cliff jumping spots, there are signs on the number of people died or injured cliff jumping over the years. There is also a sign that reads: Your fear is smarter than you! 

Your fear is smarter than you! How true it is. Unfortunately, fear is mostly portrayed in negative ways in modern society. Freedom from fear is one of the four basic freedoms articulated by Roosevelt. How freedom from fear affects our society?

Right now students in primary and secondary schools are free from the fear of failing the grade. To achieve this, all the hard sciences, especially mathematics, become very soft. A student can’t fail a math class because nothing is taught in a math class. 

Without the guidance from fear, the only motivation the society can muster is happiness. The easiest way to attain happiness is to use drugs and to play video games. In the past, the fear of long term consequences deter people from using drugs. With freedom from fear, little can be done to deter people from drug using, and video playing.

Fear is one of the strongest emotions and one of the basic instincts of human beings. It is evolved for good reasons. When social policies are designed to short circuit a basic instinct, soon the society will become extinct.