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Shots fired at MIT - report of an active shooter near Bldg. 32 (Stata)

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Re: Shots fired at MIT - report of an active shooter near Bldg. 32 (Stata)

#71

Post by ra »

untog wrote: post #5

Don't wish to make light of this at all, but I do wonder- how often does this happen? After all, "shots fired" is not an uncommon thing in many cities in the US. I just wonder whether we will look back in 12 months time at the "week of hell" and realise that it was actually just a week in which we found all the things that usually go on every week that we don't hear about.

Having never lived in the US, I find it astounding that you could make a comment like that and get so many nods.

I've never even heard a gunshot, and I don't know anyone who ever has.

Re: Shots fired at MIT - report of an active shooter near Bldg. 32 (Stata)

#73

Post by frinxor »

homosaur wrote: post #11
untog wrote: post #5

Don't wish to make light of this at all, but I do wonder- how often does this happen? After all, "shots fired" is not an uncommon thing in many cities in the US. I just wonder whether we will look back in 12 months time at the "week of hell" and realise that it was actually just a week in which we found all the things that usually go on every week that we don't hear about.

Some crime happens on a college campus probably every day. Most likely hundreds of violent crimes a year. But the reason this is on HN is MIT, nothing more.

i was a bit surprised seeing this on top of HN - i feel its out of place. anyone else?

Re: Shots fired at MIT - report of an active shooter near Bldg. 32 (Stata)

#74

Post by podperson »

lysium wrote: post #69
aaron695 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well if you truly meant one life saved fair enough. So you'd have to deducted the people killed in making sites like these first. So a web site is possibly $40,000. A humans life in the US is probably worth around $2,000,000. So it might cost one 50th of a humans life to create a site like this. I'd guess not, but the figures are complicated, the site is used for other things for starters. I'd suspect a suicide help…

Are you kidding us? You cannot compare 'human lives' by comparing dollars. And surely, the site does not "cost" one 50th of "a" human life.

Economists figure these things out by looking at how much people value their own lives (e.g. how much of a salary increase people expect for high risk jobs). The figures calculated are surprisingly low (IIRC ~$300,000 for an Australian in the late 90s). You need to do this kind of analysis to do cost/benefit analysis -- e.g. should we spend money on making a road safer or building a new hospital?

According to Wikipedia -- $6-7M per life in the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_of_life

Re: Shots fired at MIT - report of an active shooter near Bldg. 32 (Stata)

#75

Post by seany »

untog wrote: post #5

Don't wish to make light of this at all, but I do wonder- how often does this happen? After all, "shots fired" is not an uncommon thing in many cities in the US. I just wonder whether we will look back in 12 months time at the "week of hell" and realise that it was actually just a week in which we found all the things that usually go on every week that we don't hear about.

I saw the headline and was thinking the exact same thing. I live in San Jose, CA and hear shots at night a few times a week.

Re: Shots fired at MIT - report of an active shooter near Bldg. 32 (Stata)

#79

Post by uvdiv »

An MIT police officer was killed.

A university police officer has died after being shot on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge late Thursday, according to state police.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/18/us/cambridge-gunshots/index.ht...

Re: Shots fired at MIT - report of an active shooter near Bldg. 32 (Stata)

#80

Post by marcamillion »

weisser wrote: post #49
emily37 wrote: post #36

"There was a shooting at 32 Vassar St... No suspect description... No direction of flight..." MIT officer was shot and weapon stolen, I think they said the weapon was recovered. Officer is at MGH. Witness in lobby of Stata saw man in cowboy hat. (All that on the police scanner in the last minute or so)

Live stream of police scanner: http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/6254/web

Thanks for this.

Kinda feels weird sitting in Jamaica listening to the police scanner around MIT.

Kinda awesome too - I know the tech is simple...but actually experiencing it, gives you this "world is small" feeling.

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