Fear: Between Scylla and Charybdis

As long as humanity has been telling stories, the theme of facing risk on either side has been a theme. Expressions such as “between the devil and the deep blue sea”, and “between a rock and a hard place” have long shaped our narratives. They bring to mind impossible choices, referred to with names like “Catch-22” and “Morton’s Fork”.

Yet it has always been the story of Odysseus, guiding his ship between the deadly sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis, that has always caught my imagination. For...