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In a message Sandra writes:


> << Riding in a car is one of the most dangerous activities an American can
> engage in, but most of us do it several times a day and the great majority
> of us are fine. Sex, realistically, has a much lower "danger" factor. >>
>
> Wow. That's true.
>
> People are rarely "had sex with" while they're minding their own peaceful
> business, but it's possible to be driving VERY safely and have a big truck
> hit
> you through no fault of your own.
>



Ahem. This actually happened to us, except it was a 16-year-old
talking to her friend instead of noticing the stop sign, not a big truck, that hit
us. No idea how she was parented or schooled, but our being "un"schoolers
didn't help us a bit.

And all it did for me is furnish a whole new category of daily worry,
not make teen sex or nose-piercing seem safe by comparison. <g>

Pam's a real expert, but as an amateur I'd recommend The Universe and
the Teacup: The Mathematics of Truth and Beauty by K.C. Cole.

Chapter Three called "Calculated Risks" in which she explains that
onereal risk in nearly every situation is the risk that our risk assessment has
been wrong! <g>

Below is a link to this and other resources at the parent-directed
education website, for more on making thoughtful decisions in our real lives --
JJ


5) <A HREF="http://www.parentdirectededucation.org/Thinking%20Parent/universe%20and%20the%20teacup.htm">The Universe and the Teacup</A> -- "As a wide-reaching accessible introduction
to what mathematics can do for us all, [The Universe and the Teacup] has few
peers"...numbers alone can explain so much but never all . . ."









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