SHARK!

I was at the gym this morning, and while winding down on the treadmill one of the screens was running a National Geographic special on shark attacks on surfers. It made me wonder how common shark attacks are, so I asked Gemini, the Google AI. My question:

Near the shore humans are an easy target for sharks. Why don’t sharks feed on humans more often?

The answer:

The available information provides a comprehensive understanding of shark feeding behaviors, the rarity of shark attacks on humans, and the reasons why sharks generally do not view humans as prey.

Here is a synthesis of the findings:

1. Shark Feeding Behavior and Preferences: Sharks are opportunistic predators with diverse diets. While some species specialize, most sharks eat a variety of marine life, including fish, crustaceans, mollusks, marine mammals, and other sharks. Large species like great whites, tiger sharks, and bull sharks prey on seals, sea lions, dolphins, and turtles. Sharks often target weak, injured, or dying prey to conserve energy.

2. Frequency of Shark Attacks on Humans: Shark attacks are extremely rare. The International Shark Attack File (ISAF) typically records an average of about 60 to 70 unprovoked attacks globally per year. The risk of being attacked or killed by a shark is statistically minuscule; for instance, you are far more likely to be struck by lightning or killed by a falling coconut.

OK, that is not the complete answer, but I think we can stop at far more likely to be killed by a falling coconut :)

The point is this sort of thing can help us understand mythology a bit better, because mythology typically arises from the unconscious fear of death.

Of the most likely causes of premature death in the US, medical error and iatrogenic death are the third leading cause, behind heart disease and cancer. Iatrogenic death refers to a death caused by medical treatment or medical professionals. This includes errors in diagnosis, treatment, medication, or surgical procedures.

We don't come across this information casually because it tramples on one of our most cherished mythologies. So let's put it this way, we are far more likely to be killed by the medical and pharmacology industries than a coconut falling on our head, but we are far more afraid of being eaten by a shark.

So are we being preyed upon by these industries? Interesting question. Surely not, the medical / pharmacological industry is altruistic, right? Humm. 

On the other hand it does profit from our diseases. In fact these industries are more profitable by orders of magnitude than the other major industries combined. 

Surely however, we are not "preyed upon" by these industries. On the other hand the US, the wealthiest nation in the world, is also the sickest developed nation in the world. Why are we so sick?

Well (no pun intended), these industries can't help themselves, they operate (no pun intended) by the profit motive. Whether they intentionally make us sick is a debatable question. One thing can be sure, as long as they operate by a profit motive they are incentivized to disseminate completely incorrect information as to the cause of health, just as they are incentivized to disseminate completely incorrect information as to the cause of disease.

Many if not most doctors start off with altruistic intentions. It's a reasonably safe bet the ones who stick it out do not end up that way.

And it's more than a sad state of affairs, it's tragic.

In fact, it's a title waiting for a book...

Nutrition: An American Tragedy