Earlier quoted context omitted.
I suspect dogs aren’t particularly deadly, it’s just that there are so many of them and they collectively spend so much time near humans. Sharks on the other hand almost never interact with humans.
The only reason housecats aren't at the top of the list is that they are so small.
Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)
191–200 of 411 posts
Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)
#192Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure. Plenty of people swim in waters where sharks are regularly observed. And still the attacks are low. And further, with many attacks, I think in particular great-whites, they back off after the first bite, which allows for much greater survivability. So the ratio of "shark contact" to "sharks win" is probably low. And if you also add in fishing for sharks (such as for fins) humans probably kill a lot more…
Hm. Not convinced. Contact with sharks vs contact with mosquitoes, or with dogs, or anything else on that list? Most people spend maybe hours a year in shark ecosystem. Vs 365 days a year in dog country, or mosquito etc.
Swimming with reef sharks vs taking a hike in a malaria infested jungle? Swimming with reef sharks please.
Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)
#193Earlier quoted context omitted.
The human category is limited, I believe, to intentional killing. Otherwise you open up a whole can of worms about macroeconomic trolley problems. (Am I killing people right now by making insufficiently-optimal donations to charity?)
It doesn’t have to be this abstract, though. This will likely change in the next 20 years. Consider the move from horse drawn carriages to vehicles. It was an acceptable risk that anyone might be permanently disabled due to being kicked in the head or trampled by a horse. This might be a horse you are simply walking past. Or one that is spooked and running down the street. The owner of the horse beared little to no r…
Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
Poor sharks, they get one of the worst raps for how little damage they do to humans. I'm surprised to see dogs so high up on that list.
I suspect dogs aren’t particularly deadly, it’s just that there are so many of them and they collectively spend so much time near humans. Sharks on the other hand almost never interact with humans.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/health/2020/jan/1...
Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)
#195Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)
#196To put this in a perspective, 1 Mosquito 1,000,000 2 Human 475,000 3 Snake 50,000 4 Dog 25,000 5 Tsetse Fly 10,000 6 Assassin Bug 10,000 7 Freshwater Snail 10,000 8 Ascaris Roundworm 2,500 9 Tapeworm 2,000 10 Crocodile 1,000 11 Hippopotamus 500 12 Elephant 100 13 Lion 100 14 Wolf 10 15 Shark 10 https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-animals-that-kill-mo...
0 Traffic 1,350,000 Sort of weird to limit the Human category to, apparently, conflict, war, murders, and acts of terrorism. Also, it's horrible that conflict, war, murders, and acts of terrorism are in the same ballpark as traffic deaths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r... (2016)
Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your pushback against the HN downvoter cowards, especially when you've questioned the status quo and planted a seed of dissent against the grain, is quite appreciated by this particular HN user. Honestly, I find the dialogue here toxic and coarse, and I'm sure I'm a part of that, too. Ideally I'd just delete my account, and never come back... But HN won't allow me to delete my account, so, in spite, I'll keep coming…
Years ago it wasn't like this, and I recall reading mostly hardcore tech nerdery on here. Now... I don't even know. HN and Reddit are pretty well useless, and the only thing that keeps me around Reddit are automotive and industrial/machining subs. Seems strange that it was only 8 years ago. Member when HN was overwhelmingly pro meritocracy? I member. I really miss reading King Terry's diatribes in showdead. You'd pro…
People today seem to be scared to death to think different (not as in apple).
Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)
#198Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Latest estimates are 0.5-1 percent fatality rate I read just a couple of days ago that the IFR (infection fatality rate) is only ~0.25%-0.3%? Still ~four times higher than that of the flu, but not ten times greater.
The current CDC "best estimate" is ~0.4%, assuming an R0 of 2.5, with estimates of ~0.2% if the R0 is actual ~2 in the US and ~1% if the R0 is actually 3.
[0]: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scena...
Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)
#199To put this in a perspective, 1 Mosquito 1,000,000 2 Human 475,000 3 Snake 50,000 4 Dog 25,000 5 Tsetse Fly 10,000 6 Assassin Bug 10,000 7 Freshwater Snail 10,000 8 Ascaris Roundworm 2,500 9 Tapeworm 2,000 10 Crocodile 1,000 11 Hippopotamus 500 12 Elephant 100 13 Lion 100 14 Wolf 10 15 Shark 10 https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-animals-that-kill-mo...
Humans are also vectors for pathogens, we just don't count them as such.
Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)
#200Earlier quoted context omitted.
0 Traffic 1,350,000 Sort of weird to limit the Human category to, apparently, conflict, war, murders, and acts of terrorism. Also, it's horrible that conflict, war, murders, and acts of terrorism are in the same ballpark as traffic deaths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r... (2016)
The human category is limited, I believe, to intentional killing. Otherwise you open up a whole can of worms about macroeconomic trolley problems. (Am I killing people right now by making insufficiently-optimal donations to charity?)