Re:My new favorite book of all time
by munificent on Monday January 29, 2018 @01:42PM
(#16259596)
As always, when critiquing someone, the Principle of Charity should apply.
> The idea that "You’re 37 times less likely to be killed by a bolt of lightning than you were at the turn of the century" makes a large difference in the happiness of people is ridiculous.
Obviously, no one but an idiot would claim quantity of lightning strikes is a key asked of human happiness. The fact that you presume Pinker is stupid enough to make this claim may say more about you (or the thoughtfulness of your argument) than Pinker.
Instead, the charitable interpretation is that lightning strikes are a great proxy for "random bad thing that can happen to people". If we're better able to survive lightning strikes, we're likely better able to survive lots of other unpredictable misfortunes.
> The idea that "You’re 37 times less likely to be killed by a bolt of lightning than you were at the turn of the century" makes a large difference in the happiness of people is ridiculous.
Obviously, no one but an idiot would claim quantity of lightning strikes is a key asked of human happiness. The fact that you presume Pinker is stupid enough to make this claim may say more about you (or the thoughtfulness of your argument) than Pinker.
Instead, the charitable interpretation is that lightning strikes are a great proxy for "random bad thing that can happen to people". If we're better able to survive lightning strikes, we're likely better able to survive lots of other unpredictable misfortunes.