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From: mrh@cybvax0.UUCP (Mike Huybensz)
Newsgroups: net.columbia,net.philosophy
Subject: Re: Escape tower for shuttle orbiter?
Message-ID: <998@cybvax0.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 26-Mar-86 10:34:43 EST
Article-I.D.: cybvax0.998
Posted: Wed Mar 26 10:34:43 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 1-Apr-86 05:14:51 EST
References: <9696@ucla-cs.ARPA> <588@qantel.UUCP> <2593@genat.UUCP> <12610@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <11035@amdcad.UUCP>
Reply-To: mrh@cybvax0.UUCP (Mike Huybensz)
Distribution: net
Organization: Cybermation, Inc., Cambridge, MA
Lines: 17
Keywords: life vs. megabucks
Xref: watmath net.columbia:2743 net.philosophy:4794

In article <11035@amdcad.UUCP> mike@amdcad.UUCP (Mike Parker) writes:
> ... Memories and human relationships are not replaceable, the price of
> 100 shuttles will never make what happened right with the children of those
> astronauts. Can you imagine telling their husbands and wives that you really
> wanted to save them, but it would have destroyed your expensive toy?

For the cost of potentially saving a few lives on the shuttle, it would be
simple to save THOUSANDS of equally irreplacable lives.  Perhaps even here
in the US, if you are chauvanistic about it.  Lives of people who are dying
slowly and agonizingly, rather than in a brief flash.

Lives can be assigned values actuarily.  If I am given a choice of where to
spend money to save lives, I'm damn well not going to fling it at the first
person to come weepy-eyed to me about "irreplacable lives".
-- 

Mike Huybensz		...decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!cybvax0!mrh