Comment by ChuckMcM | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ChuckMcM | Hacker News Reader

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Everything is a probability right? I generally don't spend my days worrying about how I'm going to survive the next asteroid strike on the planet (guaranteed to to be an issue at some point). I also get in my car and drive on the highway between here and there even though I know there are people driving under the influence that can kill me if they hit my car at speed. There are people who are getting shot by other people trying to shoot still other people all over the place, but I don't strap on the kevlar vest when ever I go out. It's all probabilities.

The risk is out there that at some point Gonorrhea can become the scourge of the human race. It is instructive to review how the staph bacteria has gone from nuisance to menace. But the exposure isn't there for Gonorreha to get ahead of us. Read that opinion piece in the Guardian.

It is important to respect that things in the world can kill you, it is also important to not let your fear drive you to action that is counter productive.

>Everything is a probability right?

Perhaps, but not everything gives the same odds and stakes.

>I generally don't spend my days worrying about how I'm going to survive the next asteroid strike on the planet

If there were legitimate news of an asteroid en route to earth, you probably would.

And there are legitimate studies of antibiotics crapping out.

And even if you don't "spend your days worrying" about the latter (which I didn't suggest everybody should), doctors, biology researchers, drug companies etc, better DO worry.

   > And even if you don't "spend your days worrying" 
   > about the latter (which I didn't suggest everybody 
   > should), doctors, biology researchers, drug companies
   > etc, better DO worry.

That was the point of my links, I do think it is an important topic, and when the threat of antibiotic resistant bacteria came up read a lot of different sources on how people were responding. That lead me to understand that the threat was being taken seriously, that significant funds were being invested in the solution, and really smart and dedicated people were working to find solutions. As those people started reporting on their work I could put it into the category of big problem, competent people are working on it, and they have the funding they need.

I spend more time thinking about underfunded efforts that are trying to address hard problems. For example I believe the development of tornado/hurricane proof affordable housing is under funded. Every year we (as a community of tax payers) fund the reconstruction of housing and neighborhoods destroyed by tornadoes or hurricanes. We reconstruct these neighborhoods with the same types of housing that were destroyed before knowing that it will be destroyed again. That is GDP that if we invested some of it in research and development of weather proof housing we could save in future years. As the planet warms this is just going to get worse, and flooding is going to be a huge issue. One thing about warmer air is that it carries more water, more water, more rain, more rain, more flooding. That is a problem worth spending time on and investing in.

It's not all the same probabilities, it's all different probabilities. It's just as important not to let lack of fear lead you into action that is counterproductive.

How is research into new treatments for bacterial infections and stricter regulations on how to use antibiotics counter-productive?

Being unaware of a risk, isn't bravery, but there's a word for it.

Not constantly living in fear of something is not the same thing as being unaware.

While true, that isn't even tangentially related to what's happening in this case.

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