On the Quality and Methods of Presentation of Individual Risk

Abstract

The article addresses issues related to the quality and methods of presentation of individual risk to a wide audience. At the beginning of the work, a historical excursion is given to illustrate the key idea: the form of presentation of information should correspond to the purposes of its practical use, and not only to formal requirements.
The aim of the article is to present important aspects of risk presentation, as well as to outline some considerations regarding the prospective dynamic presentation of risks. The paper critically analyzes the traditional tabular form of data presentation and its low practical usefulness for a non-specialist. As an alternative, visualization in the form of a “risk ladder” is considered, and to improve intuitive comprehensibility it is proposed to use the unit of measurement “micromort” (one chance in a million), allowing for comparison of heterogeneous risks.
The final part proposes an innovative approach to integrating individual risk assessment into everyday life through mapping applications. The aim of such an approach is not only to inform the user about the relative danger of different routes, but also to promote the formation of a risk assessment culture, taking into account technological limitations, practical usefulness and ethical aspects.