SFist: SF Man Killed in Shark Attack

Darkmoon

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:16:28 -0800

Every year it seems that there is either storys of ' Undertows' or sharks..... I wonder why they keep trying to scare people out of the ocean ?

mpantone

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:11:26 -0800

@aleph1: I understand your point, but the statistics I have don't calculate that risk level per exposure. I don't even know if there are any analyses that calculate the statistics fully. In any case, I don't think it would ultimately help people make decisions between walking around during a thunderstorm or surfing in the ocean. I have my own PADI certification as well, and I am equally saddened by the media sensationalizing these shark attacks.

aleph1

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:33:12 -0800

Being a diver, I find shark attack incidents interesting, and the media frenzy around them rather saddening, as it is likely many shark species will go extinct within my lifetime. That being said, I take issue with the way people throw about the statistics of shark attacks vs. lighting strikes. While the numbers quoted may be accurate, they are meaningless unless put in context. The absolute numbers, on their own, don't tell you anything about the risk of either event. What you are interested in is the number of events as they relate to the number of exposures. If there are very large numbers of people exposed to lighting (e.g. large number of men-hours spent outdoors in areas with high prevalence of lighting) compared to people exposed to sharks (e.g. low men-hours of surfing, diving and beach bathing), then the rate of shark attacks may in fact be much higher than the rate of human lightning strikes.

OrangeDrink

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:24:40 -0800

Adrian was a bartender at Glow in San Mateo, and will be greatly missed by the staff and patrons there.

mpantone

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:02:49 -0800

FYI, megang, more Americans die of venomous spider bites per year than die of shark attacks. Heck, you have a great chance of dying from falling out of your dinner chair. 2004 stats at the National Safety Council Shark deaths are so low, they don't even merit a separate category.

manys

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:57:02 -0800

It doesn't help calm the hysteria when a great white shark image is used instead of a tiger shark.

megang

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:47:47 -0800

I know it's silly but sharks still freak me out. They are really big with rows of huge teeth and bad eye sight! Bleeding to death due to a shark bite sounds SOO scary! Maybe this is because I'm still traumatized by watching "Jaws" as a child!! And don't get me started on spiders either.

deadbrother

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:47:09 -0800

death by lightning just isnt as cool, so no one hears about it. Plus the media loves fear tactics, sharks are just a US conspiracy to deal with the minorities. Ask Rev. Wright.

mpantone

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:36:13 -0800

@megang: Actually your boyfriend is right. The US fatality rate from shark attacks averages less than one a year. The US lightning strike fatality rate is about 30-40 per year.

RobInSF

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:31:53 -0800

Sharks seem to be pretty pissed off these days. I guess I would be upset too if people kept messing with my home and stealing my food.

megang

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:16:20 -0800

My boyfriend is going on a surf trip to Baja at the end of May and I will be shitting myself the whole time he is gone. He on the other hand says he's not worried because he has a better chance of being struck by lightning. Yet most of the time those people end up living.