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That's kind of like saying that it's not the shark that kills people but the blood loss.

slg 6y ago
You missed my point. I am asking for consistency in the metrics. We get malaria from a parasite that is spread by mosquitoes. We get tuberculosis from a bacteria that is spread by humans. TB kills more than three times as many people every year as malaria. Why is malaria counted as a death caused by mosquitoes but TB isn't a death caused by humans? Either you count both or you count neither.
- bryanrasmussen 6y ago
  I think it's because the only really meaningful experience you have with a mosquito is when it kills you via malaria.
- ravenstine 6y ago
  Ah, I see. It is probably fair to count TB deaths in the "human kills" category, but I think we usually make a differentiation between human to human disease and disease caused by contact with an animal. It's just the way we see ourselves as separate from the rest of the animal kingdom. Although I get what you're saying, I don't think that human deaths caused by TB is necessarily what people are interested in when you aggregate all of the of humans at the hand of other humans, which may be why those deaths are omitted.
- godelski 6y ago
  Mosquitoes don't kill except for diseases. Humans have means of killing besides spreading diseases.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
dubcanada 6y ago
Not it's not. They're saying that 1,000,000 is the number for mosquitos, not because they kill people but their a carrier of disease. What they are asking is do we consider other animals in the same capacity, such as, does the number beside humans include human transmittable diseases (HIV for example). Seems like a reasonable question.
- ravenstine 6y ago
  > Seems like a reasonable question. Just to be clear, I think it's a perfectly reasonable question. A rational question can still contain a potential flaw. But I did misunderstand what they were asking.

slg 6y ago

You missed my point. I am asking for consistency in the metrics. We get malaria from a parasite that is spread by mosquitoes. We get tuberculosis from a bacteria that is spread by humans. TB kills more than three times as many people every year as malaria. Why is malaria counted as a death caused by mosquitoes but TB isn't a death caused by humans? Either you count both or you count neither.

bryanrasmussen 6y ago
I think it's because the only really meaningful experience you have with a mosquito is when it kills you via malaria.
ravenstine 6y ago
Ah, I see. It is probably fair to count TB deaths in the "human kills" category, but I think we usually make a differentiation between human to human disease and disease caused by contact with an animal. It's just the way we see ourselves as separate from the rest of the animal kingdom. Although I get what you're saying, I don't think that human deaths caused by TB is necessarily what people are interested in when you aggregate all of the of humans at the hand of other humans, which may be why those deaths are omitted.
godelski 6y ago
Mosquitoes don't kill except for diseases. Humans have means of killing besides spreading diseases.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

dubcanada 6y ago

Not it's not. They're saying that 1,000,000 is the number for mosquitos, not because they kill people but their a carrier of disease. What they are asking is do we consider other animals in the same capacity, such as, does the number beside humans include human transmittable diseases (HIV for example). Seems like a reasonable question.

ravenstine 6y ago
> Seems like a reasonable question. Just to be clear, I think it's a perfectly reasonable question. A rational question can still contain a potential flaw. But I did misunderstand what they were asking.