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title: ""People vastly overestimate the risks of sex: "Imagine that a…"
date: 2015-11-12
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships shared a link.
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# "People vastly overestimate the risks of sex: "Imagine that a…

*November 12, 2015 · Facebook*

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[http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/11/the-stigma-of-sex-related-health-risks/415518/](http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/11/the-stigma-of-sex-related-health-risks/415518/){target="_blank"}
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\"People vastly overestimate the risks of sex:\
\"Imagine that a thousand people---randomly selected from the U.S. population---had unprotected sex yesterday. How many of them will eventually die from contracting HIV from that single sexual encounter?\
Now, imagine a different thousand people. These people will drive from Detroit to Chicago tomorrow---about 300 miles. How many will die on the trip as a result of a car crash?\
Which of those two numbers is bigger?\
If you're anything like the participants in a new study led by Terri D. Conley of the University of Michigan, the HIV estimate should be bigger---a lot bigger. In fact, the average guess for the HIV case was a little over 71 people per thousand, while the average guess for the car-crash scenario was about 4 people per thousand.\
In other words, participants thought that you are roughly 17 times more likely to die from HIV contracted from a single unprotected sexual encounter than you are to die from a car crash on a 300-mile trip.\
But here's the deal: Those estimates aren't just wrong, they're completely backward.\"
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