In a world where critical thinking is in short supply, learning the distinction between hazard and risk, two terms that are often and inaccurately used interchangeably, can be an important step in making good lifestyle choices.
Hazards are dangerous. They are real and imminent. Maintaining a safe distance away from them is, not only a good idea, it's the basic and fundamental must of the human body that evolved in a world of entropy, where everything tends to fall apart and where every living thing, human, animal, plant and microbial, survives at the expense of something or someone else.
Risk, on the other hand, is the chance or likelihood that a given hazard will actually occur. They can be high, as in likely, or low, as in unlikely. Hazards represent potential dangers. Risks are based on the likelihood that that potential will be actualized.
Walking in the jungle is a hazard. Being eaten by a jaguar is a risk. Enjoying bacon is a hazard. Stomach cancer is a risk. A virus is a hazard. Contracting a disease is a risk.
The important part to recognize is that, just because something is a hazard, does not necessarily mean that that risk will occur. Functional risk assessment takes a hazard and then evaluates its likelihood in real life applications.
The world is filled with hazards, but whether or not they will actually happen is a function of, not how hazardous they are, but how risky (i.e. how likely) they are. When we confuse the two, it's very easy to fall into a life paralyzed by worry and fear.
