Why are spiders more scary than sharks?

[Sejanus]

Good job on totally misrepresenting my analogy. Straw-man much?

Your argument has been that since sharks are more dangerous, they should be more frightening. By that logic, atomic weapons should be more frightening than a .45.

This is simply not the case. Joe average is more frightened of a .45 precisely because he's far more likely to be confronted by one than an atom bomb. Spiders are generally held to be more frightening than sharks for the same reason.

Which would I rather face? Atom bomb vs. .45? The .45, obviously. Shark vs. spider? Again, obviously the spider.

But, is someone going to pull an atomic weapon on me and demand my money or accidentally nuke me in a drive-by nuking? No. Is a shark going to nestle down at the foot of my bed or nest in my firewood pile? Again, no. Honestly, I'm frightened of neither sharks (zero chance of confronting one) or spiders (extremely low chance of getting bitten by one, as long as I'm careful around their potential hiding places, who's toxicity is lethal), but I do have far more concerns about spiders than sharks because there is absolutely zero chance of me encountering a shark in the course of a normal day. Both Brown Recluse and Black Widows are a very real possible encounter (killed a Widow just last week and usually kill 3-4 of them each year) eight months out of each year where I live. It's already been proven that I am sensitive to the venom of the Recluse family and the one I was bitten by was a Recluse family member with relatively weak venom. If I were bitten by a full grown Brown Recluse, that may well get very ugly.

Personally, if there are animals I fear, it would be coyotes (have observed them in the greenway behind my house), cougars and/or bears. All three of these are legitimate threats along the front range of the Rockies. Granted, I'd have to get out of town for cougars or bears to be more than a passing concern, but I can state as fact that I have never been as frightened for my own life as I was the time I saw a cougar charging my direction. Fortunately she, like Elmer Fudd, was hunting rabbits.

Wouldn't be too sure of that if I were you.