Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

I would argue heart disease being the leading cause of death in many 'developed' countries strongly indicates that we, as a society, do not have control over it.



We don't, or we can't? As a country, we can do things to force people to avoid the risk factors and take mitigating actions.


> we can do things to force people to avoid the risk factors and take mitigating actions.

Just like we forced people to stop drinking during prohibition, and we force petty criminals all the time to stop doing bad stuff once caught?

We'd like to think it's the former ("we can, but we don't"), but the reality is we can't.


What you're saying is that we should be giving up many human lives every year to maintain the status quo?


I think the fact that you can bloat up to any weight you want just like how you can have as many kids as you want represent how primitive our civilization really is.

We are incredibly ineffective at doling out scarce resources or pricing in externalities.

I just don't expect humanity to get a handle on it for another 100 years at least. I'd say that, right now, we can't.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: