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Eugine_Nier comments on I've had it with those dark rumours about our culture rigorously suppressing opinions - Less Wrong Discussion

26 Post author: Multiheaded 25 January 2012 05:43PM

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Comment author: Eugine_Nier 26 January 2012 01:04:21AM 13 points [-]

Scientific and technological progress has indirectly caused millions upon millions of deaths that would not have occurred in the absence of scientific-technological progress.

It has also directly saved millions upon millions of lives.

Comment author: Will_Newsome 26 January 2012 01:36:34AM *  0 points [-]

Is that true? It sounds plausible, but I'd like to see evidence.

Comment author: Eugine_Nier 26 January 2012 01:40:38AM 11 points [-]

Given that we haven't achieved immortality yet, we'd have to specify what it means to "save a life".

Comment author: Will_Newsome 26 January 2012 01:47:32AM 5 points [-]

Yeah, I was thinking that. QALYs would be nice but tricky to deal with.

The first thing that comes to mind as establishing a lower bound are antibiotics but their effects are pretty complicated I think.

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