Hacker News Reader

If I understand what you're saying, I think it's a stretch to say that "wasted time" is the same as literally not existing.

View on HN

Maybe not equivalent, but there is a ratio to be argued. Being dead or being forced to do nothing for the rest of your life has little difference for most people

Not sure what you mean by, the rest of your life, driving a bit slower to save lives is a fraction of your life spent. I guess there's probably some moral equation being levied when people decide speed limits, but it probably has more to do with minimizing deaths rather than comparing the value of time.

It's just an extreme example to show that time and life both have comparable value.

Speed limits have an implicit value comparison. If you want to minimize dwaths you could ban all modes of transportations or set a 1 mph speed limit, but we value our economy and time more than the amount of deaths caused by higher speed limits.

It's a matter of perception.

The value is a matter of perception. The facts are not a matter of perception.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com