when to panic

I'll start this thought and finish another time...

It's been on my mind lately the idea of knowing when it's the right time to panic. Clearly if there's an imminent accident up ahead when I'm driving, I need to quickly respond by taking a sharp detour and risk the injuries caused by running off the road... I mean, not always... not on a bridge or anything. Especially not if there wasn't actually going to be an accident.

It's that moment in the decision process I'm curious about. When to decide this is an emergency and I need to act to reduce my losses?

What if you don't catch on the problem is as big as it is until later. The morning of 9/11, a friend wrote me over IM that a plane hit a WT tower in NYC. I was shocked. And then got dressed and went to class. Not comprehending how horrendous and pinnacle of a morning this was.

As we face this financial crisis, I continue to wonder how big of a deal this all is. Have I fully grasped its impact, or am I not fully aware of the present moment while I make my way to start class just like I was planning when I woke up?