What do you fear most?

[warty goblin]

I find the idea that out of thousands if not millions of Internet denizens, that the only reason these people have such 'pedestrian' fears is because they are young to be silly. It's because we have such a broad array of people that despite age and wisdom you're going to actually see the further edges of the bell curve. Especially in a self selected poll.

So far as I can tell, your first and second sentences are saying completely different things.

Modern, high-tech airships exist though, even if they are not widespread yet. And they seem much better and safer then planes.
Plus, they are airships. Airships are cool.

The only thing I worry about with air travel is how to wedge myself into a seat that's about two inches too small in all the relevant dimensions. This has made never going to China under any circumstances that do not involve first class upgrades a personal life goal of mine. I tend not to worry about the safety of the thing though; as noted above I try to avoid concerning myself with small chances of more or less instant death over which I have no control.

[SiuiS]

So far as I can tell, your first and second sentences are saying completely different things.

1. The idea is silly.
2. Because sheer numbers means it's a false premise.

The only thing I worry about with air travel is how to wedge myself into a seat that's about two inches too small in all the relevant dimensions. This has made never going to China under any circumstances that do not involve first class upgrades a personal life goal of mine. I tend not to worry about the safety of the thing though; as noted above I try to avoid concerning myself with small chances of more or less instant death over which I have no control.

Yeah. Pretty much.

[T-Mick]

My fear of planes is linked to ignorance. I get Helicopters. They're like giant, upside-down air-corkscrews. A fascinating and poetic image, if you ask me. When you spin a screw, it goes in, without much pressure applied. Same thing for Helicopters. They go up just like the cork-screw goes in.

But planes? I don't get it. I thought I did, after middle school. You know: "The shape of the wing pushes the oncoming air down, moving the plane up." But then someone pointed out that they can also fly upside down. They don't really have visible moving parts, like dragonflies and helicopters, but they still go up. It has something to do with speed, but then I saw the "Plane on a Conveyor Belt" Mythbusters Episode.

Since Science failed to explain planes to me, and in fact made me understand them less, I have concluded that airplanes fly by a pact made with Satan to provide legions of Devils to lift the infernal metal tubes into the air at the pilot's command, in return for the souls of all involved. You won't catch me dead on a plane.

[Creed]

The concept of snakes inside of pipes and plumbing. Completely irrational and borderline insane.

[GPuzzle]

The concept of snakes inside of pipes and plumbing. Completely irrational and borderline insane.

"I'VE HAD HAD IT WITH THESE MOTHERF***ING SNAKES IN THIS MOTHERF***ING PLUMBING!"

I'm afraid of helicopters but not of airplanes. Weird.

[Amaril]

The false accusation one somebody mentioned a little while ago brought to mind another one of mine. For the past few years, I've been afraid that someday, I'll be involved with a woman, and I'll accidentally overstep some boundary of hers that I wasn't aware of, and she'll be so upset by it that she'll accuse me of sexually assaulting her. More than the fact that this would probably ruin my life forever, I'm scared of leaving someone with that kind of experience; I think sexual assault is the worst thing someone can do short of murder and I hate anyone who does it, but I hear people say frequently that a lot of perpetrators of sexual assault don't even realize that what they're doing is assault, and even though I know I understand how consent works, I'm terrified of being one of those people.

And once I post this, I know there are gonna be people who say that if I'm afraid of doing it without realizing, I'm already just as much of a monster, because if I wasn't, I'd never have any chance of doing it at all. And there's a not insubstantial part of me that agrees

[mistformsquirrl]

My fear of planes is linked to ignorance. I get Helicopters. They're like giant, upside-down air-corkscrews. A fascinating and poetic image, if you ask me. When you spin a screw, it goes in, without much pressure applied. Same thing for Helicopters. They go up just like the cork-screw goes in.

But planes? I don't get it. I thought I did, after middle school. You know: "The shape of the wing pushes the oncoming air down, moving the plane up." But then someone pointed out that they can also fly upside down. They don't really have visible moving parts, like dragonflies and helicopters, but they still go up. It has something to do with speed, but then I saw the "Plane on a Conveyor Belt" Mythbusters Episode.

Since Science failed to explain planes to me, and in fact made me understand them less, I have concluded that airplanes fly by a pact made with Satan to provide legions of Devils to lift the infernal metal tubes into the air at the pilot's command, in return for the souls of all involved. You won't catch me dead on a plane.

Lol >.<;

I think I *may* be able to clear this up. I've actually flown a Cesna 172 twice in my life. (I don't have a pilot's license, though I was planning to get one at the time.)

A heavier than air craft needs to generate lift in order to fly - and that lift needs to exceed the weight of the aircraft. To generate lift, you've got your wings - wing shape is important, but it's not quite as simple as "the wing shape pushes air down to generate lift"; because as you note, some aircraft can fly upside down.

In order to generate lift you need thrust as well - thrust is what causes the plane to move forward; in a piston engine aircraft like a Cesna, this is your propeller. This works by forcing air from the front of the plane to behind the plane at a high speed; it's basically Newton's Third Law put into practice: for every action there's an equal but opposite reaction. (That is, if you forcefully move air from ahead of you behind you, you move forward.)

A jet engine does the same thing really, but instead of just moving the air, it sucks it in, compacts it, sprays it with jet fuel and lights it on fire. (Jet engines are effing metal, now you know!) Basically it's a controlled continuous explosive reaction (emphasis on the controlled part) that pushes the aircraft forward.

So, now we get back to how this interacts with lift: Thrust pushes you forward, as you go forward air moves along the body of the aircraft, when it impacts the wings, air is forced both over and under the wing, with more air being forced under than over; causing you to take off. Once you're in the air as long as you continue to generate the minimum necessary thrust to generate the minimum necessary lift (based on the weight and design of your aircraft), you'll fly.

This is also why there's such a thing as stalling out: A stall happens when you aren't generating enough lift to stay airborne anymore.
---

So, about that flying upside down thing:

First of all, not all aircraft can do it. Second, those that can are still following all the same principles above; they're just generating enough thrust that any loss of efficiency from being upside down isn't enough to send them into a stall.

----

Does that help? There's a lot more to it than just this, but I'm not an expert, just someone with slightly more knowledge of the subject than average.

[mistformsquirrl]

The false accusation one somebody mentioned a little while ago brought to mind another one of mine. For the past few years, I've been afraid that someday, I'll be involved with a woman, and I'll accidentally overstep some boundary of hers that I wasn't aware of, and she'll be so upset by it that she'll accuse me of sexually assaulting her. More than the fact that this would probably ruin my life forever, I'm scared of leaving someone with that kind of experience; I think sexual assault is the worst thing someone can do short of murder and I hate anyone who does it, but I hear people say frequently that a lot of perpetrators of sexual assault don't even realize that what they're doing is assault, and even though I know I understand how consent works, I'm terrified of being one of those people.

And once I post this, I know there are gonna be people who say that if I'm afraid of doing it without realizing, I'm already just as much of a monster, because if I wasn't, I'd never have any chance of doing it at all. And there's a not insubstantial part of me that agrees

Not at all I don't think. That you're concerned is a good sign.

Basically, all you need to do is remember that consent, freely given, is paramount to anything; and that requires good communication and mutual respect. You do that you should be gold.

[Aedilred]

The false accusation one somebody mentioned a little while ago brought to mind another one of mine. For the past few years, I've been afraid that someday, I'll be involved with a woman, and I'll accidentally overstep some boundary of hers that I wasn't aware of, and she'll be so upset by it that she'll accuse me of sexually assaulting her. More than the fact that this would probably ruin my life forever, I'm scared of leaving someone with that kind of experience; I think sexual assault is the worst thing someone can do short of murder and I hate anyone who does it, but I hear people say frequently that a lot of perpetrators of sexual assault don't even realize that what they're doing is assault, and even though I know I understand how consent works, I'm terrified of being one of those people.

And once I post this, I know there are gonna be people who say that if I'm afraid of doing it without realizing, I'm already just as much of a monster, because if I wasn't, I'd never have any chance of doing it at all. And there's a not insubstantial part of me that agrees

Nah, I can completely understand that, and I can understand becoming a nervous wreck over it and second-guessing yourself into madness. I've had issues with that sort of fear in the past. It's good to be aware of it, because it is really important. But for all that "no means no", consent isn't always as black and white as one might hope and I completely get the worry that you might have misinterpreted it at some point.

And for all that the "false accusation of sexual assault" is often an argument invoked by unpleasant people for unpleasant reasons, such does happen, and it does ruin peoples' lives. The best you can really do is follow the usual rules, and try to avoid the sort of person who's likely to do it.

[danzibr]

Hmm. There are some interesting fears in here.

For me, loss of my children. And my wife.

[Frozen_Feet]

I've been afraid of a lot of things throughout my life. Most of those have passed. To give an example, for a short moment in life, I was afraid of water, but I kinda got over it cause I swim weekly.

The most persistent and perhaps the weirdest fear I have is that of mirrors. Specifically, whenever I'm alone and look away from a mirror, I'm afraid there'll be someone else reflected from it when I look at it again. You know, like in horror movies, when someone looks at the mirror, then leans down to wash their face, and when they look up - scare chord! - there's some creep with a skull mask there. I don't know why I have such a fear, because to my recollection no-one has ever managed to spook me this way. Maybe I just watched too much cheap horror flicks when I was young.

Then there are those things I regularly see nightmares of. Losing control of my car while driving it is a pretty common theme. Usually, such dreams end with me driving into a lake. It's no wonder considering I've been part of three traffic accidents and have closely witnessed a fourth. I've never been a very good driver anyway. But it's not something that keeps me from driving in the waking world.

Another common nightmare was some of my little scouts pushing me off a cliff. Not too unreasonable, considering I've had my fair share of petty underage anger directed towards my person. Still not something that'd actually keep me from interacting with children.

[Durkoala]

There's some very interesting fears here. I wish I was a Psycologist, so I could know more about what each of them mean.

My big fear is probably being judged as being unworthy of society. I'm afraid that one day I'll say or do something that will make people realise I don't fit into their world, and I should be shunned or shipped off somewhere far away. Every time I take an exam or any similar ritual test of personal ability, I worry. I'm aware that I'm actually fairly normal, but that doesn't really help.

On a lighter note, I also have a really strange phobia. I really don't like seeing the underside of the surface of water. I feel like I'm trapped in wax or amber, sealed away from the world and I won't be able to get out and will drown, trapped beneath the silver ceiling. I don't have any real trouble with, partly due to how hard it is to get into that situation. The strange thing is that context doesn't matter: I've tested with a glass of water held over my head, and immediately got that thrill of fear. Strange. And quite lucky: a friend of mine is actually allergic to water.

[mistformsquirrl]

Allergic to water? ... but... water is required for life... how can you be allergic to water? Surely it's something IN the water, yes, not H2O?

[Nilehus]

Something happening to my daughter or wife, first off.

Being eaten is a second one. I have Attack on Titan to blame for that one.

Lastly, if anyone is familiar with SCP, that one with the staircase, the crying child, and the ghostly half-face. It's been a recurring nightmare ever since I read it. -shudder-

[Talar]

Ending up alone in life. And/or being a failure at being a dad. That is what I am afraid of, other things may frighten me or make me sorta jump or similar, but nothing else that I truly fear like those two things.

[Hyena]

Allergic to water? ... but... water is required for life... how can you be allergic to water? Surely it's something IN the water, yes, not H2O?

You'll be surprised how scary the world can get.

[Asta Kask]

It's not strictly speaking an allergy - there's no IgE and histamine release involved - but it's close enough for government work.

If you were truly allergic to water you would be dead very quickly, since blood is mostly water.

[Kalmageddon]

Isn't there some sort of disease or genetic disorder that actually makes you allergic to yourself? Like your antibodies target healthy cells as well?
I may be talking nonesense, my knowledge in the field of medicine is rudimentary to say the least.

[Sir Grave]

Call me Ron Weasly, if you want. Spiders scare me to death. Or at the very least, negative hit points.

[Asta Kask]

Isn't there some sort of disease or genetic disorder that actually makes you allergic to yourself? Like your antibodies target healthy cells as well?
I may be talking nonesense, my knowledge in the field of medicine is rudimentary to say the least.

Lots of them. All autoimmune disorders. The immune system is very, very tightly regulated because it's so critical for survival yet so potentially deadly if it gets unleashed. There was an accident ten or fifteen years ago where they tested a new antibody that was supposed to tone down the immune system slightly. Instead it activated everything wildly, causing a cytokine storm. No one died, but appendages were lost. The immune system is nothing to play around with, and the only reason I can see all the "alternative medicine" that "strengthens the immune system" without losing my **** is that I know none of them work.

[noparlpf]

It's not strictly speaking an allergy - there's no IgE and histamine release involved - but it's close enough for government work.

If you were truly allergic to water you would be dead very quickly, since blood is mostly water.

Wait, but if blood were made of water those people would be dead. It must be made of some oily substance. WHAT IS BLOOD?!
Man, that troll was so bad.

[mistformsquirrl]

You'll be surprised how scary the world can get.

Huh. That is highly unexpected and also strange. <o.<> Also terrifying.

[Domino Quartz]

Isn't there some sort of disease or genetic disorder that actually makes you allergic to yourself? Like your antibodies target healthy cells as well?
I may be talking nonesense, my knowledge in the field of medicine is rudimentary to say the least.

I think those are called autoimmune disorders, or something. Arthritis is an example, in which your immune system attacks the cells in your joints.

[Remmirath]

Really? I actually hope that there is absolutely nothing after this life, and that after we die, that is absolutely it. I honestly hope there is no after-life, and I really hope there is no "being tied to the earth in ghostly form". The idea that when I die, that's it, is actually quite comforting. What about that concept makes you afraid/cringe/whatever?

It's difficult to explain, I suppose. If I think about it too closely or too long, it leads quite directly to me wondering what exactly the point of ever doing anything is, if someday I will not be able to look back on it and realise I did it, and not only that, won't even exist to remember or not remember it. Perhaps it's due to being excessively self-centered, or some such -- I certainly can't say why it is what I fear the most -- but I simply can't stand the idea of not being any more. Being a ghost sounds far preferable to me than no longer being aware of anything, not being able to think or experience anything, ever again. I would honestly rather end up as a brain in a vat somewhere than not exist. I can't help but think that, if some day I will not exist, some day it will not matter that I did exist. That's as far as I can manage to explain it, but it's a horror that I've had for my entire life, and I've no idea why or where it came from. It's the one horror I can't manage to even rationally talk myself out of when I don't have to confront it directly; I just have to forget about it as much as possible.

I know that one, too; I felt that way for quite a while after getting in an accident on the freeway. (Not a very bad accident - lowish speeds, no injuries, damage pretty minor and covered by insurance for both parties - but still.) Commuting to work was a bit nerve-wracking for the weeks/months immediately afterwards... It's been long enough that I can think of driving as a mostly routine activity again, but I'm still a little more aware of the possibility that a collision could really happen if I mess up. (Or, yes, if someone else messes up. Scary.)

That sounds pretty terrifying nonetheless. I have never myself been in a car accident, though. I've never even been pulled over. The worst that's ever happened to me, while I've been driving, has been having to drive slowly on icy roads so that nothing does go wrong. I imagine it would be even worse if I had been in a car accident. I'm still concerned about cornering on a bicycle at any speed and won't do it at high speeds, and the accident that spawned that fear was over two years ago now (although it was only half a year ago that I could actually reliably run and jump again, to be fair to myself).

For whatever reason, I never went through that period of youthful belief in my own invulnerability that I hear so much about, and I put off learning to drive until I was almost eighteen because I was concerned about doing it. Ever since I can remember, I was quite well aware that I could be killed by many things, and my greatest fears were already in place (plus a few others I actually grew out of, luckily enough).

That sounds like an awesome title for a Blind Guardian song.

It does!

[golentan]

It's difficult to explain, I suppose. If I think about it too closely or too long, it leads quite directly to me wondering what exactly the point of ever doing anything is, if someday I will not be able to look back on it and realise I did it, and not only that, won't even exist to remember or not remember it. Perhaps it's due to being excessively self-centered, or some such -- I certainly can't say why it is what I fear the most -- but I simply can't stand the idea of not being any more. Being a ghost sounds far preferable to me than no longer being aware of anything, not being able to think or experience anything, ever again. I would honestly rather end up as a brain in a vat somewhere than not exist. I can't help but think that, if some day I will not exist, some day it will not matter that I did exist. That's as far as I can manage to explain it, but it's a horror that I've had for my entire life, and I've no idea why or where it came from. It's the one horror I can't manage to even rationally talk myself out of when I don't have to confront it directly; I just have to forget about it as much as possible.

Huh. It's interesting, a lot of the things you view as negatives I view as positives. I like the idea that eventually, whether a decade or a million years after I die, there will be nobody left who knows about my life. Eventually, I'd like to rest... forever. I don't usually dream, I usually just blip out of consciousness at some point and blip back in, so I'm used to the idea of not existing on some level, and it's not a particularly scary feeling. It's just that some day I won't blip back; or at least I hope not. One of my fears is being reduced to a decrepit mind, existing long past the point of relevancy or ability to meaningfully interact with the world, howling impotently at things entirely beyond my experience. Or worse, surviving past the last star in some form, eternally contemplating all the things I might have done differently and going insane from loneliness as my existence drags interminably. My children's children's children may never know my story, but I'll have paid something forward to my children and grandchildren, who will pass on their own unique contributions, and that's enough. Eventually, let the past be past and let my shade not trouble the future, as far as I'm concerned.

[The_Snark]

It's difficult to explain, I suppose. If I think about it too closely or too long, it leads quite directly to me wondering what exactly the point of ever doing anything is, if someday I will not be able to look back on it and realise I did it, and not only that, won't even exist to remember or not remember it. Perhaps it's due to being excessively self-centered, or some such -- I certainly can't say why it is what I fear the most -- but I simply can't stand the idea of not being any more. Being a ghost sounds far preferable to me than no longer being aware of anything, not being able to think or experience anything, ever again. I would honestly rather end up as a brain in a vat somewhere than not exist. I can't help but think that, if some day I will not exist, some day it will not matter that I did exist. That's as far as I can manage to explain it, but it's a horror that I've had for my entire life, and I've no idea why or where it came from. It's the one horror I can't manage to even rationally talk myself out of when I don't have to confront it directly; I just have to forget about it as much as possible.

Ah, existential terror; the lurking suspicion that nothing you are or do - that nothing anyone has ever or will ever be or do - matters. I know that feeling, though for me it alternates between weirdly comforting and horribly depressing (depending on my mood) rather than scary.

For whatever reason, I never went through that period of youthful belief in my own invulnerability that I hear so much about, and I put off learning to drive until I was almost eighteen because I was concerned about doing it. Ever since I can remember, I was quite well aware that I could be killed by many things, and my greatest fears were already in place (plus a few others I actually grew out of, luckily enough).*

I put it off in much the same way; partly because the idea seemed a bit intimidating, and partly because I suspected that my primary use for a driver's license at that time would be running errands for other people. (A suspicion which proved more or less accurate )

Oh yes, forgot to mention: the dark. It doesn't bother me much normally, but being outdoors in a forest at night makes me nervous at best*. I think this is probably an instinctual fear - primitive humans who relaxed while alone in a forest at night probably didn't fare too well. Not sure, though. I'd be curious to know if this is common; I feel like there are some people who are at least accustomed to being out in the wilderness at night, and maybe just naturally comfortable with it.

*It didn't help that the forest around my old college campus was known to have mountain lions from time to time. There's never been a reported attack, so rationally I shouldn't have worried too much about that... but my rational side also liked to remind me that there was a local history of serial killers, and I fell right into the most common target demographic. Thanks, brain. Thanks a lot.

[Ifni]

I'd be curious to know if this is common; I feel like there are some people who are at least accustomed to being out in the wilderness at night, and maybe just naturally comfortable with it.

Hmm. I don't think I have an instinctual fear of the dark and wilderness, but I do get nervous if walking on a trail where I could fall and injure myself in the dark, especially if alone (I consider this a rational fear as I have previously broken my foot while hiking and had to walk down to the trailhead on the broken foot; this is not an experience I'm eager to repeat). Likewise, in an area where I know large predators are common, even if attacks are uncommon (e.g. bears in Yosemite or the area near Aspen), I get twitchy and hyper-alert - I suspect I might feel similarly if walking in a wilderness area attached to a major city, if I knew about previous attacks (by people) there. (I do get twitchy walking down deserted city streets late at night - I actually feel much safer somewhere like Manhattan where there are still hundreds of people on every block at 2am.) But being out in the wilderness in the dark, in itself, doesn't scare me - my parents took me camping a lot as a kid, and on several occasions we went out into the back of beyond, as opposed to an established campground. (I didn't especially like having to bring a trowel and eat only food we could cook over a campfire - my nine-year-old self liked her little luxuries - but there were some compensations )

[noparlpf]

Really? I feel way safer in wild areas with predators than in cities. At least if a bear eats you you know it was for a good reason.

[Coidzor]

Really? I feel way safer in wild areas with predators than in cities. At least if a bear eats you you know it was for a good reason.

I would hardly qualify people being careless about their trash leading to the bears losing their fear of humans and associating the smell of humans with food as a "good reason," sir.

[noparlpf]

I always just thought humans smelled like food anyway.