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How Doctors die. It’s not like the rest of us (2016)

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Re: How Doctors die. It’s not like the rest of us (2016)

#151

Post by tonyedgecombe »

spoonjim wrote: post #129

The problem with euthanasia is that the certainty of it defies all human survival instincts so it’s psychologically very difficult to press a button that ends our existence. What would be better if you could legally hire a service, while healthy, that would sneak up on you and kill you painlessly if you were in a terrible condition with nothing but pain and misery to look forward to. You could cancel them at anytime,…

Perhaps we could devise some kind of medical implant to do it. Although no doubt somebody here would offer it as a SaaS that triggered when you failed to renew your subscription.

Re: How Doctors die. It’s not like the rest of us (2016)

#152

Post by [deleted] »

burlesona wrote: post #68
CobrastanJorji wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just yesterday there was an article on Hacker News attacking Bezos for having the pride and selfishness to attempt to cure aging: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28440348 "Be fine with dying of old age or else you're a villain" is this weird, fundamental, Christian part of our common mythos/ethics/stories. The evil villain seeks immortality. The kindly old witch or wizard or Pope dies peacefully because it is ri…

Why did you feel the need to slam this as “Christian?” There’s nothing in Christianity that speaks against medicine or trying to extend life. The only thing that is different for Christians is they believe death is not the final end, and thus have less reason to be afraid. They still don’t want to die. Would you be comfortable slamming other religions in the same causal way? If not, why not?

[deleted]

Re: How Doctors die. It’s not like the rest of us (2016)

#153

Post by rdevsrex »

burlesona wrote: post #68
CobrastanJorji wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just yesterday there was an article on Hacker News attacking Bezos for having the pride and selfishness to attempt to cure aging: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28440348 "Be fine with dying of old age or else you're a villain" is this weird, fundamental, Christian part of our common mythos/ethics/stories. The evil villain seeks immortality. The kindly old witch or wizard or Pope dies peacefully because it is ri…

Why did you feel the need to slam this as “Christian?” There’s nothing in Christianity that speaks against medicine or trying to extend life. The only thing that is different for Christians is they believe death is not the final end, and thus have less reason to be afraid. They still don’t want to die. Would you be comfortable slamming other religions in the same causal way? If not, why not?

Well, particularly early Christianity hero-worshipped martyrs, and seeing as how death brought about union with Christ, there is no tradition of prizing life in the body above death.

Re: How Doctors die. It’s not like the rest of us (2016)

#154

Post by ZWoz »

abeppu wrote: post #145

This subverts the message a bit, but my grandmother was sent to a hospice to die as comfortably as possible. I was out of state during her treatment up until this point, but when she was being moved to hospice care, I was told to expect her passing very soon. In this case, her doctors really seemed to have run out of good options; she just hadn't responded to treatment. But, after she was moved to hospice care, she b…

> And not suffering, not being in pain was maybe what allowed her to begin to heal.

I think that is somewhat well known? I don't have good references about humans, but veterinarian James Alfred Wight (wrote books as James Herriot) has written about it, how lost cause lamb "miraculously" recovered after big dose pain killer (sorry, don't remember details, only his thoughs, how getting rest from pain helps).

Re: How Doctors die. It’s not like the rest of us (2016)

#155

Post by eurasiantiger »

alentist wrote: post #143
eurasiantiger wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not referring to giving or philanthropy, I’m referring to the ”suffering erases sins” mindset perpetuated by Christians. It is Jesus’ final message. Sin does not exist, they made it up to make themselves and others suffer. Have you considered that some people are so keen on giving away their fortunes because it makes them suffer more, and thus makes them think they are now cleaner in God’s eyes?

Have you considered basing your characterization of 2.5 billion people on reality, rather than your own twisted mental gymnastics and fabrication of their beliefs?

I am basing my characterization on hundreds of associates, acquaintances and encounters, as well as second-hand anecdotes, from a time span of three decades.

Re: How Doctors die. It’s not like the rest of us (2016)

#156

Post by slim »

raptorraver wrote: post #136
wombatmobile wrote: post #127

The important difference between physicians and non-physicians in relation to death is not that doctors understand disease mechanisms. It is that doctor's are familiar with death. Ordinary people aren't as familiar with death, and don't have a wide range of responses to it because society hides it and pretends it doesn't exist. The main place regular people encounter death is on the news as a statistic of war and cri…

Due religious reasons I'm contemplating my death quite often. Not daily but I try to do it at least weekly. I don't say it has made me comfortable about being mortal but compared to people around me I seem to have more casual relationship to it. Like the other day my boss asked me if I'll come to the office next week and with smile on my face I answered, that yes I'll come if I won't die during weekend. He got quite…

What you said to your boss is actually a common expression in my country. To say "I hope so" about some event in the future, we say "If we live".

Re: How Doctors die. It’s not like the rest of us (2016)

#157

Post by marcus_holmes »

raptorraver wrote: post #136
wombatmobile wrote: post #127

The important difference between physicians and non-physicians in relation to death is not that doctors understand disease mechanisms. It is that doctor's are familiar with death. Ordinary people aren't as familiar with death, and don't have a wide range of responses to it because society hides it and pretends it doesn't exist. The main place regular people encounter death is on the news as a statistic of war and cri…

Due religious reasons I'm contemplating my death quite often. Not daily but I try to do it at least weekly. I don't say it has made me comfortable about being mortal but compared to people around me I seem to have more casual relationship to it. Like the other day my boss asked me if I'll come to the office next week and with smile on my face I answered, that yes I'll come if I won't die during weekend. He got quite…

I have the same thing. I often contemplate my death, and how I am going to die. And yes, I derive some comfort from it - knowing I have lived my best life and done the best I could at it. There are things I haven't achieved yet that I want to experience, so I don't want to go just yet. But if it happens, then I'm good with that.

But I'm an atheist, and firmly believe that this is all we get, and death really is the end of everything for us. I'm not sure I'd be so accepting if I was facing some kind of afterlife. Even ignoring the possibility of an eternity being tortured in heck, I'm much happier with the thought of everything just stopping than with the thought of it somehow continuing on another level.

It's interesting, how our fear of death drives us. Yet (as gp says) we never talk about it.

Re: How Doctors die. It’s not like the rest of us (2016)

#158

Post by ddorian43 »

raptorraver wrote: post #136
wombatmobile wrote: post #127

The important difference between physicians and non-physicians in relation to death is not that doctors understand disease mechanisms. It is that doctor's are familiar with death. Ordinary people aren't as familiar with death, and don't have a wide range of responses to it because society hides it and pretends it doesn't exist. The main place regular people encounter death is on the news as a statistic of war and cri…

Due religious reasons I'm contemplating my death quite often. Not daily but I try to do it at least weekly. I don't say it has made me comfortable about being mortal but compared to people around me I seem to have more casual relationship to it. Like the other day my boss asked me if I'll come to the office next week and with smile on my face I answered, that yes I'll come if I won't die during weekend. He got quite…

He wasn't expecting you to be suicidal or terminal ill or this being the weekend a bus ran over you.

And the phrase "if we're alive", is used for longer time periods like next year or more.

Re: How Doctors die. It’s not like the rest of us (2016)

#159

Post by amelius »

slim wrote: post #156
raptorraver wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Due religious reasons I'm contemplating my death quite often. Not daily but I try to do it at least weekly. I don't say it has made me comfortable about being mortal but compared to people around me I seem to have more casual relationship to it. Like the other day my boss asked me if I'll come to the office next week and with smile on my face I answered, that yes I'll come if I won't die during weekend. He got quite…

What you said to your boss is actually a common expression in my country. To say "I hope so" about some event in the future, we say "If we live".

Which country?

Re: How Doctors die. It’s not like the rest of us (2016)

#160

Post by kelnos »

dimitrios1 wrote: post #96
thatfrenchguy wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And a lot better societal outcomes. Unwanted babies suck and end up having bad lives, negatively affecting their parents’ lives as well.

Too bad we can't ask unwanted babies if they would rather have been born into a bad life. This isn't directed at you, but I have had countless conversations about this very topic. The detriments are greatly overstated. I've found usually people are talking of these things outside looking in in an ideological vacuum, and not an experiential one. Let's take societal outcomes for african americans, as an example. What p…

So basically your solution to racism is "force black women to have more babies"? That's... pretty disgusting if so.
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