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If the headline was "universal cure for cancer found!", would you also say "I'm missing the good news"?
by ahupp 6y ago
If the headline was "universal cure for cancer found!", would you also say "I'm missing the good news"?
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- notRobot 6y agoExcept it's nothing like "universal cure of cancer" so what's your point?
- AnimalMuppet 6y agoIt's "universal cure for aging", which, since aging causes death, is even better than "universal cure for cancer"... ... at least, that's what it says. Whether it works at all, and whether it works indefinitely, are still TBD. But again, the same would be true of a claimed universal cure for cancer.
- ahupp 6y agoA universal cure for cancer would increase lifespan by (IIRC) 2 years. This would increase it by lots more. I'm having a hard time drawing a line here that says one is good and one is bad.
- Pfhreak 6y agoDepends on who has access. Do you think everyone will have equal access to this treatment?
- stronglikedan 6y agoAre there any elective treatments that people don't have equal access to?
- pmiller2 6y agoAlmost all of them, due to cost.
- stronglikedan 6y agoBut cost is not access. People save money for elective procedures/treatments all the time, regardless of their income level, indicating that they have the same level of access as anyone else.
- Pfhreak 6y agoCitation needed. Cost, under any non-pedantic definition, is absolutely part of access. Otherwise you could say, "everyone has access to a Bugatti Chiron." Or, "everyone has access to private jets for travel". Access implies ability to benefit from something, and if you absolutely cannot afford something, then you do not have access to it.
- Pfhreak 6y agoMany? Dental care, for example, definitely has unequal access. Implant replacement for a tooth is several thousands of dollars out of pocket. Wealthy folks can afford to get a tooth made and an implant added (and can afford the time off work for surgery recovery.) Less wealthy people might not be able to afford to replace a tooth (and need to just have the tooth pulled or live with the pain), or cannot take the time off to recover.
- stronglikedan 6y agoDental work isn't elective, as it can cause major problems if left untreated.
- Pfhreak 6y agoA dental implant is considered elective. In many cases you can pull the tooth and not replace it. Joint replacements are considered elective, as is plastic surgery (even reconstructive surgery following a burn or injury), and some cardiovascular surgeries.
- strofcon 6y agoThe announcement of something that (potentially) arbitrarily extends human life is, quite literally, an announcement of "universal dramatic increase in chances of developing cancer found!" If we could all manage to avoid "normal natural causes" death for everyone under 1000 years old, we'd still all die of cancer well in advance of that age.
- google234123 6y agoCancer is very correlated with aging though so that might not be so true. Cancer is complicated, you can see Peto's paradox for a nice example.