I notice on this platform there are people who think discussing economics is incompatible with discussing life/death, as in a human life shouldn't have a dollar value. I'm sorry to tell you that that calculation is a fundamental part of many policies that govern our lives 1/3

For eg, all of us accept that some of us will die in car accidents. The govt could choose to eliminate all deaths from car accidents by banning cars. But we don't because we want the convenience of cars. We try to limit deaths by imposing things like speed limits 2/3

Authorities use a measure called "micromorts" to calculate the death/cost ratio in determining policy. If this interests you, read The Norm Chronicles: Stories & Numbers About Danger by Michael Blastland & David Spiegelhalter. It's a fascinating book 3/3