Shark Week has passed, but catch reruns next week before the sharks catch you.

Its airer implores us to keep cool:

Given the drama and horror of a shark attack, it's easy to forget how rare they are, and how widely scattered. For example, in 2005, there were only 58 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks on humans worldwide, four of which were fatal.

Shall we?

Given the drama and horror of a shark attack, it's easy to forget how rare they are,

It is easy to “forget” how rare they are, especially when an institution such as (say) the Discovery Channel devotes an entire week to terror tactics masquerading as education. Their show titles, their descriptions:

• Perfect Shark (Imagine a shark that can attack with the force and speed of a bus - the perfect shark?)


• Shark Rebellion (The Brazilian city of Recife is under siege. Its sharks have suddenly become man-eaters.)


• Shark Attack Survivors (Learn the secrets of the most deadly and misunderstood marine predator in the world.)

and how widely scattered.

Again I object to the choice of the word “forget,” which distributes -- Discovery Channel is trying to evade responsibility for its role in hyping shark attacks and attributes widespread irrational fear to “forgetfulness” rather than sensationalist manipulation of an unusually fear-stricken populace.

Also, I would like to know how the drama and horror cause one to form beliefs about the geographical distribution of shark attacks.


For example, in 2005, there were only 58 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks on humans worldwide, four of which were fatal.

OMG can you please do a show about the provoked ones?!?!

In its defense, the Discovery Channel page above contains a link to the International Shark Attack File, whose staff has, in its unbounded wisdom, computed for you “The Relative Risk of Shark Attacks to Humans Compared to Other Risks.”

The ten Other Risks are:

alligator attacks
lightning strikes
tornadoes
animal-related fatalities
injuries associated with home-improvement equipment
biting injuries occurring annually in New York City
bicycle-related injuries and fatalities
beach injuries and fatalities
dog attack fatalities
hunting incident fatalities


We bear witness to an unimaginably helpful act of data collection. Now people can compare the risk of being attacked by a shark to the risk of some other bad thing whose probability they understand just as poorly. ISAF, your work is done.

Plus, ISAF's tables suggest more people die on bikes than from shark attacks. If that were true, wouldn't an institution such as (say) the Discovery Channel devote a week to bike accidents? My kids will be riding bikes, not sharks, International Shark Attack File.