
Why flattening the curve is overrated - itsmemattchung
https://www.pensford.com/why-flattening-the-curve-is-overrated/
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JMTQp8lwXL
Economic losses can't be equated to human life, and it's a fool's errand to do
so. We flatten to reduce demand on health care. We do so because it's the
compassionate thing to do, because human life matters more than GDP figures.
Quarantining won't kill people. There will be economic consequences, but
quarantine won't leave you with permanent lung damage, either.

Look at how our country's national security policies were forever changed
after 3,000 deaths on September 11th. This disease has the ability to take
away two magnitudes more people -- hundreds of thousands. We shouldn't be
surprised if profound policy changes emerge as a response to pandemic.

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orangecat
_Economic losses can 't be equated to human life_

They can, and in fact it's necessary to do so in order to make reasonable
decisions. That's why we don't shut down the world during every flu season.

 _Look at how our country 's national security policies were forever changed
after 3,000 deaths on September 11th._

And a lot of those policies have turned out to be questionable at best.

 _This disease has the ability to take away two magnitudes more people --
hundreds of thousands._

Correct. We should be quarantining now not because "it will save lives", but
because the expected value of the lives it will save outweighs the costs.

~~~
JMTQp8lwXL
We instead could compare the number of deaths if we quarantine, vs if we
don't, and then choose the path with the least number of deaths.

If for example, we could no longer produce food due to quarantining (not the
case, as essential industries are still operating-- but imagine for some
reason, we did shut down food production), and 100 million would die vs
200,000-- clearly the better option would be to not quarantine.

So, I don't know if this a debate of semantics, but "economic losses" that
would turn into actual loss of human life (e.g., due to starvation) are being
accounted for.

