3 ms·

You never came back, but these seem fun to answer: - Recycling? Generally, no. I think aluminium is the only one that's actually efficient, but potentially g

You never came back, but these seem fun to answer: - Recycling? Generally, no. I think aluminium is the only one that's actually efficient, but potentially glass, though that might be re-use only. - The only ways to die from that list that I'm concerned about is inattentive driving, since I interact with cars on the regular, the others not so much. - I'm in Canada, but I'd say on average the streets are less safe (vehicular accidents going up, at least in Toronto), but crime is going down (if you meant that as a euphemism) in both our countries. - I think the "we" in the losing/gaining civil liberties modifies that question. I'm a straight white dude, and I'm probably gaining liberties at a rapid pace, at least in terms of those I can exercise. There are definitely other groups that are losing effective access to those liberties. Black men, for example, aren't being treated fairly in the justice system at all, not really getting the advantage of the right to a fair trial, and instead taking coercive plea deals. So that's a tricky question to answer. - Fiat money has already crashed and burned in several countries. I believe it was the Zimbabwe dollar that skyrocketed up towards trillion dollar bills for loaves of bread? That said, I've already had my assumptions challenged on a few of these over the years. It wouldn't surprise me too much to find that the situation had changed in the meantime, and the new rules of thumb I had ingrained about them don't apply.

DenisM 7y ago
On recycling we're mostly on the same page, only you may have missed the part where recycling paper is not just pointless but harmful - when paper hits the landfill it sequesters the carbon out of the air and into the ground. Recycled paper remains in circulation, thus reducing incentive for tree growers to plant more trees [3]. Medical errors kill a huge number of people [1]. It's less of a problem for you of course if you don't have a need to be near a doctor. Flu kills tons of people too, mostly those with immune system problems, mostly the elderly [2]. Agree on car deaths. Everything else on that list is much smaller. Of note, police killings (both justified and not) are on the same plane as bathtub drownings (less than 2x difference). Crime is way down, as you noted. It wasn't an euphemism though, it's a question of whether one would allow an unsupervised child outside. There was never a safer time. Civil liberties are on the march. 10 years ago gays could not marry, 20 years ago they went to jail for having sex, 70 years ago they were mutilated, earlier still they may have been killed. Black kids today face injustice, 50 years ago they were not allowed to enter school (or bus), 100 years ago they were facing the klan, 150 years ago there were considered property. Women today have higher earning power than men, 50 years ago they were chased/laughed out of any medium-to-high-paying job, 100 years ago they could not vote and they employment prospects were worse still. Divorce was an option for women 100 years ago. Protesting against the war 100 years ago would send you to jail for sedition, that is to say 100 years ago we did not have the freedom of speech. The progress is dramatic. Zimbabwe shows us that fiat can be messed up, but does it show that it is inherently messed up? There is a small number of conditions that allow fiat currency to be rock solid. Detractors usually point out fiat is only viable due to trust (unlike gold) and people may just stop wanting it one day. They forget that fiat is always in high demand by the people who must have taxes, and this captive audience cannot stop wanting. Well, that was fun! Would you like to go on? I might have messed something up here, and surely have some hangups of my own. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading... [2] https://www.verywellhealth.com/deaths-from-flu-2633829 https://www.verywellhealth.com/deaths-from-flu-2633829 [3] http://www.paperbecause.com/paper-is-sustainable/paper-truth-or-fiction http://www.paperbecause.com/paper-is-sustainable/paper-truth...

DenisM 7y ago

On recycling we're mostly on the same page, only you may have missed the part where recycling paper is not just pointless but harmful - when paper hits the landfill it sequesters the carbon out of the air and into the ground. Recycled paper remains in circulation, thus reducing incentive for tree growers to plant more trees [3]. Medical errors kill a huge number of people [1]. It's less of a problem for you of course if you don't have a need to be near a doctor. Flu kills tons of people too, mostly those with immune system problems, mostly the elderly [2]. Agree on car deaths. Everything else on that list is much smaller. Of note, police killings (both justified and not) are on the same plane as bathtub drownings (less than 2x difference). Crime is way down, as you noted. It wasn't an euphemism though, it's a question of whether one would allow an unsupervised child outside. There was never a safer time. Civil liberties are on the march. 10 years ago gays could not marry, 20 years ago they went to jail for having sex, 70 years ago they were mutilated, earlier still they may have been killed. Black kids today face injustice, 50 years ago they were not allowed to enter school (or bus), 100 years ago they were facing the klan, 150 years ago there were considered property. Women today have higher earning power than men, 50 years ago they were chased/laughed out of any medium-to-high-paying job, 100 years ago they could not vote and they employment prospects were worse still. Divorce was an option for women 100 years ago. Protesting against the war 100 years ago would send you to jail for sedition, that is to say 100 years ago we did not have the freedom of speech. The progress is dramatic. Zimbabwe shows us that fiat can be messed up, but does it show that it is inherently messed up? There is a small number of conditions that allow fiat currency to be rock solid. Detractors usually point out fiat is only viable due to trust (unlike gold) and people may just stop wanting it one day. They forget that fiat is always in high demand by the people who must have taxes, and this captive audience cannot stop wanting. Well, that was fun! Would you like to go on? I might have messed something up here, and surely have some hangups of my own. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading... [2] https://www.verywellhealth.com/deaths-from-flu-2633829 https://www.verywellhealth.com/deaths-from-flu-2633829 [3] http://www.paperbecause.com/paper-is-sustainable/paper-truth-or-fiction http://www.paperbecause.com/paper-is-sustainable/paper-truth...