Why is Deadly Weather Mesmerizing? | StarTalk

Well, in the same way that CNN does very well in their ratings when there's war, the Weather Channel does really well when there's extreme weather. Right. So people love watching extreme weather—the tornadoes—it's mesmerizing. Hurricanes. Absolutely. And I don't know why, because it's deadly. But maybe we just like deadly—like, kids here like looking into the mouth of T-Rex. Yeah. And who doesn't love black holes, right? That will rip you to shreds.

So—so maybe there's some morbid fascination we have as humans with things that could kill us, but we somehow keep a safe distance from. Or fascination with scale and power that we can't comprehend. Energy, yeah. Yeah. The manifestation of energy beyond our control. Mm-hm.

So—so Rad, do you have any insights into people's fascination with extreme weather?

Yeah, I think we heard a big part of it right there. As we're getting better in some ways at managing risk, planning for the future. As satellites improve, I think it's somewhat human nature to still be in awe of these things that can immediately disrupt—at a safe distance. At a safe distance. Everything that—that can disrupt all of our best plans. And I think that clearly, it's compelling to study some of these extreme events.

Because if we can better understand what's going to happen, either in terms of predicting an individual storm or how the statistics of storms may change in the future, then we can reduce some of those—some of those risks. But I think there's another piece here perhaps related, which is this—I think we should acknowledge this just sort of visceral element by which we're fascinated by these things. Thinking of tornado chasers. You know, there's a beauty to these extremes as well that maybe we need to connect with in some of our messaging, too.

So our—I think also—also, I think—if I'm alone here, just let me know. But we're all looking forward to death. [laughing] When should we let you know? Now? [laughing] Let's have a talk afterwards.

No, I think—I think the safe distance from something that will kill you is an intere—who doesn't love sitting behind a picture window watching a thunderstorm unfold? Right. And maybe there's a way we can even leverage the idea that these extreme events are sort of exciting to people. As macabre as it is, is there a way for that to get some people to the table?

When horrible things happen like Hurricane Sandy, can there be a teaching moment after? Where do you sometimes have potential to, right after? When people have seen the vulnerability, when they're making decisions about whether to rebuild, how to—how to use that information.