| THIS SITE IS NOT RELATED TO THE TELEVISION-SHOW, "FEAR FACTOR". |
Overview
The Fear Factor Organization is a practically nonexistent entity at this time. It consists of nobody other than myself, John R Avery. I chose "fearfactor.org", as a domainname, only because "fearfactor.net" was already taken.
The purpose of this web-site is to help promote the notion that fear, of one sort or another, is the primary motivator for most human Beliefs, Attitudes, and Behaviors (BABs). I independently formed this notion, beginning in the late 1980s. In my opinion, fear is a factor that affects everything from our religious beliefs, and how intensely we hold them, to our anxiety sometimes at choosing the right thing to eat at a restaurant. The point is my notion that the so-called "human condition" could be improved if we were to understand this and manage our BABs from this understanding. I had a small multipaged web-site up for a while when I was working at the University of Chicago (thru 1998/spring) but, since I left there, I've had nothing but a single page for the past few years. Lack of time and money have prevented me from developing my ideas, and this web-site, any further than what you see here.
The above "slogan", about "irrational fear", is an original quote from me. Franklin D Roosevelt's quote was "We have nothing to fear, [dramatic pause] but fear, itself." I believe that, whichever way you express this, it is one of the most profound sayings possible, regarding life as we humans experience it. My specific wording simply points more toward the core of the implied problem. |
As indicated above, this site is not related to the television-show of the same name. This term has also been used for two published books (one a novel and the other an apparent religious perspective). And the term has been getting much popular use with regard to the so-called "extreme sports" and other miscellaneous topics.
My use of the term "fear factor" has no official relation to any of these other uses --although it is vaguely related, only by chance, to its "extreme sports" meaning (i.e., "no fear"). If it helps to distinguish my use of this term from all those other uses, I informally web-published a copyright claim to the phrase "The Averian Fear Factor", circa 1999.
I have found one published book, in particular, that comes quite close to expressing, generally, my own notions of "the fear factor". It is Dr Susan Jeffers' (PhD) "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway" (originally published in the mid-1990s or earlier). I never read the entire book and, lately, haven't even been able to find my copy but, based on what I did read of it, I definitely recommend it, even though I might not strictly agree with every detail of her perspective. At least she has actually published not only one book, on this pet subject of hers (mine too), but a few books, each of which seems (by title) to relate generally to the same topic, from different angles. Do a web-search, on google.com or one of the online bookstores, for her name, and you'll find her books.
More recently, Barry Glassner has written a book called "The Culture of Fear", subtitled "Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things [...]" (orig pub 1999?). I recently found and purchased this book; read the introduction and a few pages of the first chapter. It is both fascinating and terrifying. What Mr Glassner has written does not, so far, actually surprise me but, unfortunately, provides very-strong evidence / proof that humans can easily be ruled by their fears, and how they can be coerced into inflating reasonable and moderate fears into fears that are both exaggerated and irrational (often, irrational mostly because they are exaggerated). So far as I've gotten into the book, Mr Glassner does not approach fear in quite the same "fear factor" way that Susan Jeffers and I do but it's both close enough and important enough, in my opinion, to warrant a close look. I am beginning to be of the opinion that every person in the United States --if not the world-- should read this book.
If you are interested in speaking to me about my ideas, I'll be very happy to get an email from you., though PLEASE include "Fear Factor" in the Subject line! I am very busy with my regular job (technology instructor for a major computer-technology company), and I get many emails, but I'll do my best to respond to you and discuss or explain whatever you are interested in, regarding this topic.
Home email: john.r.avery@comcast.net
--John R Avery
Last updated 2004/Jan/10 |
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