The Fireplace Delusion
Discussing gun policy with a friend, I mentioned the Freakonomics statistic that having a pool on your property is 100 times more dangerous for your child's welfare than having a gun in the house.<p>If you <i>really</i> want to see a certain subset of your friends squirm with cognitive dissonance, mention this.<p>(I hope this doesn't start a flame war.  The reason I bring up this particular example is because guns seem so ridiculously evil, while having a pool seems like every child's dream, yet the numbers tell a very different story in terms of perceived vs. actual danger.)<p>Edit: I regret posting this; but I won't delete it so people know the context of the replies.  Sorry HN!