Does a term or expression exist for the phenomenon where a person treats unclear future risk as non-important?

Question

Does a term or expression exist for the phenomenon where a person treats unclear future risk as non-important? As in:

I will ignore the coronavirus threat because I'm unlikely to contract it or get severely ill.

I will eat unhealthy because whether or not I will get ill is unclear.

Do you require a label for the phenomenon, or will descriptions of people exemplifying it ('irresponsible', 'devil-may-care', 'feckless', 'imprudent', 'incautious', 'uncircumspect', 'foolhardy' + other synonyms) do? 'Shortsighted' and 'blinkered' are also possibilities. — Edwin Ashworth, Mar 24 '20 at 11:44
It's likely that the answers here will be almost exactly those at the Is there a single word for doing something despite the fact that it might cause problems later? thread, though the question is very slightly different. — Edwin Ashworth, Mar 24 '20 at 11:49
@EdwinAshworth good observation, speficially interested whether a good word exists for the phenomenom itself, not the descriptions concerning people. — waihtis, Mar 24 '20 at 13:16
You probably need to stress the 'about a possible future catastrophe', and even refine it to 'about a possible future catastrophe that many are saying is a very grave risk', or you'll end up with 'imprudence' or 'incaution' ('[noun]: failure to heed potential problems or risks': Lexico). — Edwin Ashworth, Mar 24 '20 at 13:55

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 24 '20 at 10:10

1

They are happy-go-lucky, and possibly short-lived.

Cambridge Dictionary: Happy-go-lucky

A happy-go-lucky person does not plan much and accepts what happens without becoming worried.

answered Mar 24 '20 at 10:10

Phil Sweet

15,699

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 24 '20 at 10:27

0

That can be defined as reckless behavior.

Merriam Webster defines it as:

marked by lack of proper caution : careless of consequences

answered Mar 24 '20 at 10:27

Jim

33,381

One could describe someone who does not worry about an 'unclear future risk' as merely 'confident'. Reckless people flout clear, present risks. – Michael Harvey Mar 24 '20 at 16:35
@MichaelHarvey - I completely agree. An astronaut might completely ignore it and be perfectly reasonable. OP’s examples are not consistent, but I tried to answer in the spirit in which I believe the question was asked. – Jim Mar 24 '20 at 16:41
The OP's examples are, indeed, not consistent, either with the 'spirit' of the question, or with each other. Coronavirus is a clear, present, proven risk, and the matter of whether some food is 'unhealthy' is to some extent a matter of opinion. I believe a close vote is needed. – Michael Harvey Mar 24 '20 at 16:51

Does a term or expression exist for the phenomenon where a person treats unclear future risk as non-important?

2 Answers2