Chapter

in one book. Nor is it objective. Nevertheless, I believe that the book covers important topics of risk science. The ambition has been to shed light on some selected issues, linked to themes as indicated above. Many of these are related to events and happenings that have occurred in recent years, while others go back a bit in time. However, all the examples are relevant to our lives today and to the challenges we face in the future.

You do not need to have a background in probability and statistics or other subjects to be able to read this book. What is required is that you have an interest in and some training in abstract thinking and philosophy. If someone asks you what risk is and how risk intervenes in our lives, does it arouse your curiosity and interest? If it does, I am sure you will enjoy the book.

I hope the book will inspire pupils and students to delve into risk science. They do not learn about this subject at school, so there is a need for knowledge of what it is about, without going into too much detail and becoming too comprehensive and technical. The book can be seen as a first introduction to studies in risk-related subjects. But it is also intended to be able to provide an interesting and exciting introduction to the subject for people who work with issues related to risk in society, such as engineers, economists, health personnel, and managers, in both the public and private sectors.

I have received many useful inputs for the book during the writing process. A special thank you goes to my colleagues Professors Eirik B. Abrahamsen and Roger Flage for their constructive comments and suggestions for improvements. Some of the chapters (Chapters 2, 4, 9, 14, 16, 18, and 28) are based on articles in newspapers (Aftenbladet and DN). However, the text has been significantly changed for most of the articles. For the text in Chapter 16, I would like to thank my co-author and colleague Professor Ole Andreas Engen.