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In other news, heart disease is still the number one killer in the US.

by smm11 5y ago

awb 5y ago
You could go down the rabbit hole and say that misinformation, poor decision making, logical fallacies, mental health issues, etc. are the actual catalysts. My point is that COVID and heart disease are largely preventable at an individual level if you have ability to eat healthy foods and take the vaccine and/or practice social distancing.
- nradov 5y ago
  You can't seriously expect people to continue to practice social distancing. That is absurd.
  - awb 5y ago
    You’re right, social distancing is no more realistic for many people than maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine. My point is that we have tools to stop these diseases, we just view using these tools as worse than getting the disease.
    - School-Cotton 5y ago
      But this contradicts your earlier comment where you attributed it to poor decision making, misinformation, and so on. If one indeed puts greater value on "not indefinitely social distancing" than on "a slightly decreased risk of death or serious complications from Covid", then the decision not to continue social distancing is a good one.
      - awb 5y ago
        What I meant is that heart disease is largely avoidable for most people through relatively simple / nearly free solutions like good diet and exercise, yet it’s still pervasive as OC pointed out. I guess “poor decision making” was a misleading phrase on my part because I think I get your point that individuals could put greater value on enjoying the present, future be damned, and who’s to tell them that’s not the best way to live life. Life on average will be shorter, but I guess that’s not fair to project that as a success metric onto other people who might not care as much about their projected lifespan as they do about enjoying some more indulgent foods. And further to your point, there’s a very reasonable debate about the value of the individual vs. the value of the community in decision making that isn’t universal. So yeah I take back that earlier comment.

In other news, heart disease is still the number one killer in the US.

by smm11 5y ago

In other news, heart disease is still the number one killer in the US.

awb 5y ago

You could go down the rabbit hole and say that misinformation, poor decision making, logical fallacies, mental health issues, etc. are the actual catalysts. My point is that COVID and heart disease are largely preventable at an individual level if you have ability to eat healthy foods and take the vaccine and/or practice social distancing.

nradov 5y ago
You can't seriously expect people to continue to practice social distancing. That is absurd.
- awb 5y ago
  You’re right, social distancing is no more realistic for many people than maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine. My point is that we have tools to stop these diseases, we just view using these tools as worse than getting the disease.
  - School-Cotton 5y ago
    But this contradicts your earlier comment where you attributed it to poor decision making, misinformation, and so on. If one indeed puts greater value on "not indefinitely social distancing" than on "a slightly decreased risk of death or serious complications from Covid", then the decision not to continue social distancing is a good one.
    - awb 5y ago
      What I meant is that heart disease is largely avoidable for most people through relatively simple / nearly free solutions like good diet and exercise, yet it’s still pervasive as OC pointed out. I guess “poor decision making” was a misleading phrase on my part because I think I get your point that individuals could put greater value on enjoying the present, future be damned, and who’s to tell them that’s not the best way to live life. Life on average will be shorter, but I guess that’s not fair to project that as a success metric onto other people who might not care as much about their projected lifespan as they do about enjoying some more indulgent foods. And further to your point, there’s a very reasonable debate about the value of the individual vs. the value of the community in decision making that isn’t universal. So yeah I take back that earlier comment.