All right, all right, all right

[pegkerr]

I'm gonna get the shots.

Shit.

Edited to add: Three and a half hours in the ER, since my clinic didn't stock the vaccine. And I have to go back four more times. Argh.

Comments

[callunav.livejournal.com]

Um. This has been extensively discussed in previous posts. It is not an irrational decision. It was based on some seriously thorough research by people who are knowledgeable on the subject.

If you want to look at some of Peg's previous posts on the subject, there were a number of knowledgeable responses. I think heavenscalyx was one of the people who provided good figures and citations, if you'd like them for comparison with the findings you came up with.

I'm sorry if I sound shirty. It's just, I know this wasn't a decision that was made lightly or out of fear - if anything, fear would be more likely to persuade one to do nothing, because getting the shots is not only unpleasant in and of itself, it's also an acknowledgement that there *could* be something to be afraid of. It would be very normal to veer towards denial under these circumstances.

I myself know nothing about it. That's why I read what's been written by the people who do. And...I don't expect you meant anything slighting in what you said, so probably I'm reading it all wrong, but it just seems a little hard when a decision has been debated and debated and viewed from all different angles, to have it put down to being an emotional, illogical need for security.

I'm sorry. I have a feeling I've said all this very badly. My apologies both to you and Peg if I'm coming off offensively; it certainly wasn't my intent.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Okay. I read her post. The only data point she has different is the number of fatal bat rabies cases in the U.S. I found one per year, and she has found 2.5 cases per year.

I was woken up by a bat in the exact same circumstances as Peg within a few miles and a few days, and I'm still not getting the shots.

But I know I'm weird. I do this for a living, and I know that math almost never trumps fear.

B

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

And I am 100% certain that K, who was asleep with me when the bat made itself known, will have the exact same reaction after reading this exchange.

B

[callunav.livejournal.com]

Okay. I believe that you are writing these responses in order to present information as you understand it, to be helpful. However, it is my perception that your identification of the choice to get the shots as an irrational response to fear is rude.

It is also my perception that by continuing this conversation, I'm making things worse, myself, so I'm going to stop. I'm glad to know that we are both trying to be supportive, albeit in very different ways.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I never meant to say that a decision to get the shots, whether made by Peg or myself or K, is irrational. "But I know this is not a rational decision, and that's okay" was meant to apply to the process, not any particular result.

In general, if you think someone is behaving irrationally it's because you don't understand their rationality.

Security is both a reality and a feeling. It's easy to focus on the reality, but the feeling is just as important. Take an easy example. Someone might buy a home alarm system because it makes them feel safer. I could produce all the crime statistics in the world, but none of that takes the feeling into account. And if that feeling makes them happier in the world, then it's a good thing. And there's rational analysis that says even though a burglar alarm system isn't "worth it" based on the crime statistics, it is very much worth it based on the crime statistics and the good feelings.

People are not irrational about security. They base their decisions on the perceptions of risk and the perceptions of cost. On the one hand, this results in inefficient security allocation, but on the other hand this results in a maximation of happiness in the world.

There's a balance here, and it's not an obvious one -- especially on the national scale.

B

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I have the distinct impression that both you, B. and K. look at me at times with . . . well, I guess I would describe it as bemused disbelief about some of the decisions I make, especially ones involving personal risk, about both myself and my girls. And sometimes a tinge of, well, something more, rather beyond bemused disbelief.

In this case, I was following the recommendations of the Minnesota Dept. of Health, and my own doctor's clinic.

Look, I'm crabby today, I freely admit it. I made a difficult decision, followed some advice of people I respect, went and sat three and a half hours in an ER because of that decision, and then come back to find my decision being second-guessed in my LJ.

After much trial and error, Kij and I have come up with a code phrase for situations like this, and I'm pulling it out now.

You can make different decisions than I do.

And that's all I am going to say on the subject.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

He's right.

K.