Baruch Fischhoff: Creating, testing, and communicating theories about risk perception, public preferences, and communication.

Abstract

Baruch Fischhoff has vivid memories of his early life in Detroit. His father was born in Budapest and came to the United States in 1922, which was just before the restriction of immigration through the Immigration Act of 1924. His mother was born in Detroit, and her family was from Lithuania. Life was very different for young Jewish children then than it is today. Boys had their bar mitzvah at 13 and went to work, and girls learned to read so that they could manage a household and pray. Baruch was the first person in the family to go to high school. Most of his friends at James Vernor Elementary (named after the ginger ale magnate) came from similar backgrounds. Detroit’s Mumford High was more diverse. Baruch then attended Wayne State University in Detroit, which he characterized as serving a diverse population of students. During the 1960s, Detroit was an exciting place to live in and go to college. In 1960, it had 1.67 million people, fifth most populated in the United States and was the automobile capital of the world. Wayne State was located on Woodward Avenue, which was one of the dozen historical grand avenues of the United States. The city was politically pulsating with local, national, and international issues such as civil rights, nuclear weapons, union organizing (and busting), the Vietnam War, the Holocaust, and the environment. Baruch’s deepest commitment settled on a group (Hashomer Hatzair) that saw kibbutz life as “self-actualization,” with activities and adventures, including the summer camp where he met his wife, Andi. He delivered the keynote address about national education in an April 1965 at a HaShomer HaChadash meeting.