are we more afraid of terrorism than we were of communism?

a cool post over at the frontal Cortex attempts an answer to this question:

So why is the post 9/11 era more frightening than the post 1945 era? After all, the world actually almost ended during the Cuban Missile Crisis. While exploding airplanes and dirty subway bombs are destructive and tragic, they aren't Armageddon. We were closer to the Rapture in 1962 than we are in 2006.

the answer proposed? terrorists are more unpredictable, and so activate the amygdala. the soviets were part of an institution engaged in stable relations whose actions, though dangerous, were typically conducted via established memes and diplomatic veins, therefore partially predictable.

interesting theory!

for more on psychology and attitude towards terrorism, see cass sunsein's post on mortality salience and support for the war/bush.

Labels: neuroscience, political