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I think the point is we should be careful about "doing something" and then indulging in the satisfaction of "something has been done", especially if there is no
by droopyEyelids 10y ago
I think the point is we should be careful about "doing something" and then indulging in the satisfaction of "something has been done", especially if there is no evidence that the 'something' we pick is beneficial to anyone.
- toomuchtodo 10y agoI would agree with you if the cost was high. Running a suicide prevention hotline strikes me as a low cost preventative measure, moreso if you get actuarial/gruesome and take into account someone's dollar value as a human being (mid to high six figures for most people).
- benchaney 10y agoThe real cost of doing something because something must be done is the false sense of satisfaction. That cost is potentially very high in this case.
- toomuchtodo 10y agoAn educated guess now is better then perfect data later. We should of course continue to research ways to stem suicides and the conditions that cultivate someone feeling they have no other options.
- cryptarch 10y agoAnd so is the potential cost of not doing anything, so what's your point? You seem to conjecture that refering someone to a hotline raises the chance of that person commiting suicide, while AFAIK all the evidence points towards suicide hotlines being effective at reducing stress and suicidality.
- benchaney 10y agoSorry, what? Not doing anything may result in a false sense of satisfaction? > seem to conjecture that refering someone to a hotline raises the chance of that person commiting suicide I don't conjecture this at all. > all the evidence points towards suicide hotlines being effective at reducing stress and suicidality. What evidence? The entire point of this subthread is that we don't have any evidence that this is true. Or do you have some evidence we don't know about?