Despite Proven Technology, Attempts to Make Table Saws Safer Drag On

Re:Despite Proven Technology, Attempts to Make Table Saws Sa... by mikeash on Wednesday August 16, 2017 @12:55PM (#15029041)

My point is that he hypothetical was really close to being real back before the 1970s or so. No seat belts and solid steering columns meant you'd die pretty easily. It didn't make people drive substantially more carefully.

It is posssible that the slope of the curve dramatically reverses sometime between "no seat belts and stiff steering columns" and "literal spike in the middle of the steering wheel" but that seems unlikely and there's no reason to think that would happen.

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Re:Despite Proven Technology, Attempts to Make Table Saws Sa... by jasode on Wednesday August 16, 2017 @02:13PM (#15029760)

>hypothetical was really close to being real back before the 1970s or so.

Our perceptions differ then because when I drove an old Plymouth without seat belts, I didn't drive it as gingerly as driving a modern car today with a birthday cake in the front seat. A literal steel spike into the heart would make me more cautious than worrying about a birthday cake slamming into the dashboard. The Plymouth's steering column never gave me the feeling of impending death but a literal spike would. I think that sharp point on the end as a constant reminder really matters for the thought experiment.

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