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Lumifer comments on Irrationality Game III - Less Wrong Discussion

11 Post author: CellBioGuy 12 March 2014 01:51PM

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Comment author: trist 12 March 2014 04:50:10PM 1 point [-]

I suppose my actual belief is that flush toilets are a mistake outside of urban areas, I don't have much experience with urban living or what other poop strategies could work with it.

Advantages, flush toilets:

  • Provide easy long distance transport of human waste in urban environments.
  • Exchanges weekly-to-yearly chores for purchased services.

Disadvantages, flush toilets:

  • Create additional dependency on water (and by extension outside water districts, electricity).
  • Turn (vast amounts of) drinking water into black water.
  • Create a waste product from human manure, which is a valuable resource (fertile soil) when dealt with properly.
  • Adds significantly to the cost of housing (especially outside sewer districts).
Comment author: Lumifer 12 March 2014 08:25:06PM 1 point [-]

You forgot the "not having the whole village die from a cholera outbreak" part :-/

Comment author: CellBioGuy 12 March 2014 08:29:51PM *  2 points [-]

The running water revolution came around the same time as the sanitation revolution. I'm not 100% sure you necessarily HAVE to have one to have the benefits of the other, though it helps. Modern composting toilets and hot-composting of human manure is quite safe if done properly. Flush toilets definitely get the sanitation thing done, but perhaps rather than 'mistake' we could call them an 'inefficient first draft that still works well'.

Comment author: Lumifer 12 March 2014 08:43:02PM *  7 points [-]

is quite safe if done properly

That's the thing -- it's basically an issue of idiot-proofing. Many things are "safe if done properly" and still are not a good idea because people in general are pretty bad at doing things properly.

Flush toilets are idiot-proof to a remarkable degree. Composting human manure, I have my doubts.

Comment author: [deleted] 16 March 2014 03:17:55AM 1 point [-]

Flush toilets are idiot-proof to a remarkable degree.

Almost all of them are, but I've seen a couple of them which are very easy to accidentally flush improperly in such a way that water will keep on running until someone notices and fixes it.

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