Fear of human 1 Fear can challenge humans’ judgment and misrepresent the truth. Fiction writer Karen Walker shared a story about fear in a TED talk in which a sperm whale capsized the whaleship Essex in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. All the sailors on the ship were faced the three choices to survive. One was sailing to the closest island with a harrowing story about cannibals; another one was heading to Hawaii but could be battered by storms; The last one is the longest destination that went straight to the South America with the threat of starving to death. As Karen described, fear is just like storytelling; it can form a vivid picture in people's imagination. Those sailors were much more scared by the imaginary cannibals and unpredictable storms than by an actual threat—lacking food and water. They chose the longest route, and unfortunately, only half of the sailors survived. Charles mentions that “Fear stifles our thinking and actions,” which explained why the sailors made a decision that lost their lives.