Beware Dangerism! (Kindle Single) (TED Books) [Kindle Edition]

Gever Tulley (Author)

Book Description

If you're over 30, you probably walked to school, played on the monkeybars, learned to high-dive at the public pool. If you're younger, it's unlikely you did any of these things. Has the world become that much more dangerous? Statistically, not at all. But our society has created pervasive fears around letting kids be independent and take risks -- and the consequences for our kids are serious. Gever Tulley, the co-author of "50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do," takes on these media-inflated fears -- which he calls "dangerism" -- with surprising statistics and insights into the nature of fear and risk.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Parents today are overly cautious about the safety of their children, at least according to Gever Tulley. Discussing perceptions of risk and the cultivation of fear, Tulley brings to attention several activities that were once commonplace but are today looked down upon, including playing in the yard unsupervised, walking to bus stops, and riding on merry-go-rounds. He encourages parents to allow their children the freedom to be adventurous, get into scrapes, and learn by making mistakes. For readers who commiserate with his observations, the idea is simple: stop worrying about everyday dangers. Instead, he suggests a handful of activities that you simply have to read to believe. --Shirley Hong

Product Details

• File Size: 176 KB
• Print Length: 31 pages
• Publisher: TED Books (January 19, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004K1F3K2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,765 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #22 in Kindle Store > Kindle Singles > Society
  • #33 in Kindle Store > Kindle Singles > Essays & Ideas

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful, Fascinating, Perfect Shorter Work. January 28, 2011

By Michelle R

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Wow, did I find this to be engaging, intelligent, and interesting. This is the exact experience I wanted from the Kindle Singles program -- a shorter piece with no wasted space and just quality. "Dangerism" explores such topics as perceived danger versus the real deal, the media's hand in freaking us all out, the learning potential that comes with reasonable risks, the role of litigation, the opinions of others, and societal pressures to be perceived as a good parent.

I don't think you can get a group of people over a certain age, let's say 35, and ask them to discuss childhood play without someone beginning a discussion that goes something like, "when I was a kid, I'd go out to play in the morning and my parents didn't see me all day. I was climbing trees and getting into mischief, and doing crazy stuff on monkey bars -- and it's a wonder I made it through." Most everybody will nod along, relating to it, and most everyone will be smiling and looking for an opportunity to tell about the crazy stuff they did. These are the same people who are now making sure their own kids are never out of sight of an adult. It's an interesting dichotomy, because what these people are feeling is that same thrill and adrenaline rush of being a child and exploring, but it's the last thing they want for their own kids, because they are really afraid.

No one is suggesting that the out-of-sight of parents thing is ideal either -- well, at least one person in the piece says it, but I'm not saying it -- but so many lessons are lost when we go the other way. I saw an interesting interview somewhere -- Gavin de Becker maybe -- and it's touched upon in this piece, about how telling kids not to talk to strangers is rather bad advice. Talking to strangers under somewhat controlled situations at first is what teaches kids to assess danger, to evaluate people, to know how to navigate through a world of people, and empowers them to ask for help if it ever comes to that. If you raise your kid like a veal, development is arrested and self-sufficiency is thwarted. If you expose your child to reasonable dangers, like walking to school alone, someone might call the cops.

The world is not as dangerous as the news would have us believe, but we all remain afraid for reasons this piece covers (and sources are cited in the footnotes.) We are taught, falsely, that our children are in grave danger, are sold the false concept that if you baby proof enough and are diligent enough, that kids can be made completely safe, and this leads to guilt and blame when that rare accident happens. (Good parents know that there are scary people on every corner and never let their kids out of their sight, so the lady on the news who lost her kid at the mall is a BAD MOTHER, doesn't allow for fate or genuine accidents, or there but for the grace of God...)

I could truly go on ... and on ... until the review is longer than the piece. Suffice it to say, there's a fair amount I didn't cover.

Whether or not you think the author is right, this is just so thought-provoking, I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in the topics covered. As mentioned, the studies and themes are also well-attributed for additional reading or explorations.

This really delighted my brain. 5 stars.

(I noticed that this title is also able to be lent at this time, for all I know that's subject to change so check before taking my word. So, if you buy you can pass along to a friend with a Kindle or Kindle app.)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting insights January 27, 2011

By Wilcley

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

With an interesting take on our perception of risk, Gever Tulley explores the root causes of the extensive "baby-proofing" that is especially pervasive in the United States. The author looks at how parents perceive risk for their children and how attempts to shield them tend to exacerbate the problem. Various perspectives are examined, from the physiology of risk to the way news media affect our perceptions. This short book is very easy accessible and easy to read. This is my first Kindle book, and I found Kindle for PC very easy and intuitive to use. I look forward to reading more books like this.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wisdom for worrisome parents February 5, 2011

By Readmore

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's too bad that the worry wart parents and self-appointed caretakers of our children won't read this, but it certainly would be a help to kids everywhere.
As for the price- it's three bucks, ya bunch of skinflints! It lasted longer than the vanilla latte you had this morning, and you get to keep the wisdom forever.

More About the Author

Gever Tulley was raised in Northern California, in a town that barely exists now. Casper was once a bustling mill town, but when the logging dried up in the early mid-century, the shacks that housed the millworkers became the home to beatniks who wanted to "get out of the City, man." Thus began a childhood spent tagging along with his older brother on adventures that covered the deserted cliffs and beaches of the pre-touristed Mendocino coast.

The holder of numerous technology patents, Gever Tulley's first career was propelled by his voracious self-directed quest for knowledge. From operating systems to compilers to CGI, he has worked in nearly every field in the applied Computer Sciences. But in 2005, he made what he often refers to as "the greatest mistake of his life" when he started a summer program for kids called Tinkering School. The school was a laboratory where Gever could experiment with new pedagogies that focussed on hands-on self-directed learning. That first year, Tinkering School started being noticed by the media and educators around the world - because the kids (ages 7 to 16) had built a roller coaster with 120 feet of track. In the years since, kids have gone on to build sailboats, electric vehicles, and even a working hang glider. But one would be missing the point if it were just about what they built, Tinkering School is giving these kids a chance to amaze themselves with what they are capable of, and to discover just how responsible and capable they really are.

In 2007 he first spoke at TED, giving a talk titled "Five Dangerous Things (you should let your children do)." The talk has been seen by millions of people around the world, and continues to be blogged and commented on to this day. In that talk he made an off-hand comment about a forth-coming book entitled "Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do)" - the comment turned into a weekly in-flux of email asking where the book could be purchased. After meeting with dozens of publishers, who rejected the idea as "not kid-friendly", he and Julie Spiegler self-published the book on Amazon - where it became an over-night sensation, stirring up the media on three continents.