The smoke detector principle

The smoke detector principle tries to explain why systems that have evolved to protect us can give false flags and can lead to excessive and seemingly damaging responses. Smoke detectors (which are like the body’s protective systems) can often cause false alarms (e.g., burnt toast) that cause minor annoyances. However, if these systems miss a true positive, then the consequences can be dire (e.g., a burnt down house). Anxiety and fear responses, similar to inflammatory responses, are like the smoke detector signals – it is safer to avoid missing true positives and accept the occasional false positive than it is to miss a true positive, leading to many false alarms.