The Man Who Couldn’t Feel Fear (and It Was a Problem)

 Meet Jerry. Jerry was an average guy—average job, average cat, average obsession with microwave nachos. But Jerry had one very unusual thing about him: due to a rare and unfortunate medical condition (a bilateral lesion in his amygdala), Jerry literally couldn’t feel fear.

Now, for those of you who snoozed through neuroscience class: the amygdala is a tiny almond-shaped structure deep in the brain that handles emotional responses, especially fear. It’s the brain’s personal alarm system. Without it, you might not notice—or care—that you’re in danger.

So, back to Jerry.

One day, Jerry was walking down the street when a wild goose started charging at him. Most people would scream, run, or at the very least, question their life choices. Jerry, however, just tilted his head and said, “Wow, you don’t respect personal space, do you?” The goose latched onto his pants leg. Jerry responded, “Okay, sir, I am not a snack,” and kept walking like nothing happened, dragging a honking bird like a feathery, flapping fashion statement.

At work, things weren’t much better. During a fire drill, Jerry casually stayed at his desk filling out spreadsheets. “Jerry, it’s a drill!” yelled his boss. “There’s no real fire!”
Jerry blinked. “Oh, that’s good. Because I forgot my sandwich in the break room and didn’t want it to get roasted.”

Dating was worse. On one particularly memorable evening, he and his date were watching a horror movie. She screamed at a jump scare. Jerry yawned. She clung to him during the creepy exorcism scene. Jerry asked if she thought the demon had good cardio. When she bolted out of the theater, Jerry just shrugged and finished her popcorn.

But the final straw was during skydiving. His instructor explained the procedure thoroughly. Jerry nodded, but when they jumped out of the plane, Jerry didn’t pull the cord. Just kind of...vibed. Flapping around like a mildly interested flying squirrel. The instructor had to dive after him, screaming, “THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BE CHILL, JERRY!”

After being safely (and furiously) grounded, Jerry was sent to a neurologist who confirmed his damaged amygdala. They tried therapy, awareness training, even fear-themed YouTube videos. Nothing worked. Jerry watched footage of crocodiles and said, “That’s a spicy lizard.”

In the end, Jerry didn’t get his fear back. But he did get a new job—testing theme park rides for “maximum adrenaline.” The job had one perk: he never screamed, puked, or sued. Ever.

And the goose? It still visits sometimes. Jerry named it Steve. They share nachos