MarsColony_in10years comments on What we could learn from the frequency of near-misses in the field of global risks (Happy Bassett-Bordne day!) - Less Wrong

8 Post author: turchin 28 October 2015 06:28PM

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Comment author: MarsColony_in10years 29 October 2015 03:39:48PM 0 points [-]

Ah, thanks for the explanation. I interpreted the statement as you trying to demonstrate that number of nuclear winters / number of near misses = 1/100. You are actually asserting this instead, and using the statement to justify ignoring other categories of near misses, since the largest will dominate. That's a completely reasonable approach.

I really wish there was a good way to estimate the accidents per near miss ratio. Maybe medical mistakes? They have drastic consequences if you mess up, but involve a lot of routine paperwork. But this assumes that the dominant factors in the ratio are severity of consequences. (Probably a reasonable assumption. Spikes on steering wheels make better drivers, and bumpers make less careful forklift operators.) I'll look into this when I get a chance.