If only more Believers would be willing to stop and consider this possibility that they are misleading themselves.

I read somewhere a long time ago that an investigation showed that the chances of surviving a plane crash would increase dramtically, if all of the passenger seats faced backwards.

Also a long time ago there was a spate of kidnappings for ransom in Italy of children from wealthy families. A specialist driving instructor was teaching chauffeurs of wealthy families how to get away from a pursuing car. Two of the tricks he was showing them were how to do a 180° & a 360° spin at high speed. Whilst being interviewed he said that if he was ever heading for a collision he would always try to go into it in reverse, ie spin the car 180° before colliding. He stated that ones chances of thus surviving the crash were greatly increased but I can't remember by what factor.

I would have no problem with rearward facing seats but I remember from train journeys made as a child in the '50s that my mother always hated it if she had to travel with her back to the direction of travel.

I agree with XanderG, death itself doesn't frighten me but the thought of falling from a great height before dying does!! I really felt for all those people on the Pan-Am flight that fell from the sky over Lockerbie - most of them were probably still alive after the bomb blast. However, flying into a mountain at several hundred miles an hour would probably kill everybody before they even had time to be scared.

It was a joke. This time the pun was intentional and the "seriousness" ironic ;)

In all seriousness though, we all know that the idea would never have taken off.

Tobe, you can't say 'in all seriousness' and then make another pun.

Thanks, the pun really wasn't intended. In all seriousness though, we all know that the idea would never have taken off.

To those who are afraid of flying: does the consideration that flying is clearly safer than driving, according to the available statistics, not asway your fear in the least? I probably have a lesser degree of phobia than you do, but in my case it certainly does. Whenever a feel any sort of aprehension about being in the air, such as when turbulence strikes, I remind myself of that and it does the trick.

Can you not remind yourself over and over again of what you know? Do you forget to do so? Or is it just not effective in your case?

My observations suggest that most people can't even get their minds around the idea that they can control their emotional responses in this manner. :/ As for me...I don't mind flying, except that as a general rule commercial airliners are cramped, inadequately cooled, and have poor meal and beverage options. The main reason I hate to fly is the idiotic lengths the TSA goes to in order to make gullible passengers (who, again, are evaluating threats at an emotional level) *feel* safer without accidentally adding any meaningful degree of protection. I can't imagine why anyone would think it's worth giving up that degree of independence and privacy, and wasting that much time and energy, just to be secure in the knowledge that an average Kindergartener would have to work a little in order to smuggle a genuinely dangerous weapon onto a plane.

Is there more to it than just a difference in the amount of time one spends with strangers vs friends/family members, respectively?