No Fear

I read an article in a magazine not long ago about the things we fear and why we fear them. For example, many more people are afraid of flying than of driving a car - in spite of the fact that automotive accidents are one of the most common causes of death, and airplane disasters one of the least. Spiders vs. Crossing the Road . . . etc. Our fear instinct obviously has a few quirks in it that don't quite line up with the real world. It's kept us alive this far, but it does occasionally play games with us. Oh yes, it messes with our heads sometimes, but would we really want it to go away? Nobody enjoys it when it kicks in (except maybe horror fans, and only then in a controlled environment). Fair enough. But it saves our bacon regularly by providing a powerful deterrent - in other words, it hinders us from acting stupidly. What would a person with no fear look like? Dead, I suspect. Aside from that, though: how would they act? What would they say? Where would they go? Would you be able to pick them out in a crowd? Ultimately unanswerable questions, I suppose, as we have no specimen to examine. It is interesting to ponder them though, from our fear-bound state. It almost makes me envious to think of someone like that, dangerous (and short) as I know their life would be. Because they would have no boundaries, no limits, no "prudent" voice saying You'll regret it. All counsels and considerations would be stripped away, leaving only the naked moment and choice. And then that bright unselfconcious flame would be snuffed - but I ask you: would it not be worth it?