Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017) • Hacker News Board

Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)

#241

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC » Sat, May 30, 2020, 12:02 AM UTC

csours wrote: post #128

jl6 wrote: post #97

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.

Whenever I talk to people that think it would be cool to have a pet tiger, I tell that to imagine what a pet cat can do to a person. Now imagine if it was 500 pounds. And this is with an animal that has been domesticated for thousands of years.

Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)

#242

Post by lopmotr » Sat, May 30, 2020, 12:03 AM UTC

brenden2 wrote: post #180

derefr wrote: post #177

Earlier 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?)

Presumably if you're speeding or driving while intoxicated, you're doing so intentionally. It's not as if someone is forcing you to drive too fast or too drunk. These things (especially speeding) dramatically increase the likelihood of being in a collision.

Your aim isn't to kill anybody. A careless maintenance worker in a factory also doesn't intent to kill someone when he intentionally skips a job. Or a shopkeeper when he sells cigarettes to a customer. You would end up including nearly all deaths as caused by humans if you go down that road. The bus driver who gave an overweight person a ride instead of making them walk.

Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)

#243

Post by lopmotr » Sat, May 30, 2020, 12:05 AM UTC

viburnum wrote: post #200

derefr wrote: post #177

Earlier 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?)

A million people killed by cars prevents five million from dying how?

Cars are obviously important for the economy which provides money for all life saving things. Stopping all driving would certainly cause many deaths.

Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)

#244

Post by ip26 » Sat, May 30, 2020, 12:07 AM UTC

yyyk wrote: post #71

ahelwer wrote: post #32

I grew up in Manitoba so have a very healthy hatred of mosquitoes - 50 of them once followed me into a car during the https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/1120044775024013312

The issue is very well studied - Mosquitoes are an invading species in most areas; Only a few subspecies are harmful to humans, and they'll be replaced by similar mosquitoes that aren't. Besides, there's a very wide gap between what the West is and was willing to do when an infectious disease happens. When Malaria hit the West, we drained entire swamps (and their ecosystems) without a second though. When corona hits,…

When Malaria hit the West, we drained entire swamps without a second thought

And we're paying the price now with increased vulnerability to hurricanes. (Swamps absorb the storm)

Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)

#245

Post by bsanr2 » Sat, May 30, 2020, 12:15 AM UTC

bradam wrote: post #231

One of my classmates came back from Africa to Europe this March without any symptoms. 10 days later she got high fever, dizziness, and unfortunately she could not even recognise her family. Everyone thought its COVID, and doctors recommended her to stay home to not spread the "virus". Unfortunately when she got the the hospital, the diagnostics was too late to and she died in malaria 1,5 days later. Please beware of…

Where in Africa?

Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)

#246

Post by mindfulhack » Sat, May 30, 2020, 12:17 AM UTC

mac01021 wrote: post #27

Just as a curiosity, humans kill hundreds of trillions of insects annually. [1] https://www.quora.com/How-many-insects-die-from-people-stepp...

I appreciate that type of thinking. I also think that we desire so much to modify or eradicate other species, but we haven't thought about our own species' overpopulation, which is taxing the planet dearly. Not saying people should die, but that in the same breath we have to think about sustainability from that angle too. We're producing too many new humans, and it's lowering the quality of life for both our species and others...

Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)

#247

Post by anotherevan » Sat, May 30, 2020, 12:18 AM UTC

Koshkin wrote: post #18

To 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...

I am actually surprised cows (or cattle) are not on this list. Pretty sure they kill more people than sharks - even in Australia. (Mind you, the bovines also have more opportunity than sharks.)

Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)

#248

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC » Sat, May 30, 2020, 12:20 AM UTC

ip26 wrote: post #244

yyyk wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue is very well studied - Mosquitoes are an invading species in most areas; Only a few subspecies are harmful to humans, and they'll be replaced by similar mosquitoes that aren't. Besides, there's a very wide gap between what the West is and was willing to do when an infectious disease happens. When Malaria hit the West, we drained entire swamps (and their ecosystems) without a second though. When corona hits,…

When Malaria hit the West, we drained entire swamps without a second thought And we're paying the price now with increased vulnerability to hurricanes. (Swamps absorb the storm)

How many people actually die from hurricanes versus how many were killed by malaria?

I think that trade off was well worth the cost.

Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)

#249

Post by kbutler » Sat, May 30, 2020, 12:21 AM UTC

jayrot wrote: post #219

paulsutter wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you think mosquitos are deliberately spreading malaria?

One of them told me so.

Oh, they probably talk too fast for me to understand. I just heard a high-pitched buzzing sound.

Re: Mosquitoes kill more than 700k people every year (2017)

#250

Post by grawprog » Sat, May 30, 2020, 12:26 AM UTC

bradam wrote: post #231

One of my classmates came back from Africa to Europe this March without any symptoms. 10 days later she got high fever, dizziness, and unfortunately she could not even recognise her family. Everyone thought its COVID, and doctors recommended her to stay home to not spread the "virus". Unfortunately when she got the the hospital, the diagnostics was too late to and she died in malaria 1,5 days later. Please beware of…

Makes you wonder how many people have actually died so far this way. Being told to stay home and not spread covid, meanwhile something else is actually terribly wrong.