Though Hollywood offers audiences a romantic idea of a lone hero who saves the day, and “preppers” preach the gospel of self-reliance, both visions run contrary to most of human history.
“I started to feel a kind of obligation to set the record straight about what we can expect from each other when disaster strikes,” Coan said.
It’s unlikely, he said, that people will all turn against each other.
“It’s more common for humans under really trying circumstances to link up together to solve problems than it is for them to do the sort of disaster movie thing where they all start eating each other’s children,” Coan said.