Just an occasional reminder that if you value something so much that you don’t want to destroy it for nothing, then you’ve got to put a finite dollar value on it.
The multiple-negatives in this was hard for me to interpret. is “don’t want to destroy for nothing” “want to preserve at any cost” or “want to ensure we get something for destroying”? I presume the first, but that’s not the naive reading of the sentence.
In any case, I agree with the premise, and usually hear it framed as “you can’t value multiple things infinitely”. “human lives” is not a valid infinity target (because obviously that prevents any rational decision-making between two unpleasant options), but one specific life may be.
Edit: on further reflection, I’m surprised that I forgot to mention my preferred way of thinking about value: in humans (and perhaps in general decision mechanisms), it’s always relative, and generally marginal. It’s about the comparison of two (or more) differences from the status quo. “Value” (in these examples and context) is only defined in terms of decisions and tradeoffs—it just doesn’t matter what you value or how much you value it if you can have everything. The valuation only comes into play when you have to give up something you value to get something you value more.
The multiple-negatives in this was hard for me to interpret. is “don’t want to destroy for nothing” “want to preserve at any cost” or “want to ensure we get something for destroying”? I presume the first, but that’s not the naive reading of the sentence.
In any case, I agree with the premise, and usually hear it framed as “you can’t value multiple things infinitely”. “human lives” is not a valid infinity target (because obviously that prevents any rational decision-making between two unpleasant options), but one specific life may be.
Edit: on further reflection, I’m surprised that I forgot to mention my preferred way of thinking about value: in humans (and perhaps in general decision mechanisms), it’s always relative, and generally marginal. It’s about the comparison of two (or more) differences from the status quo. “Value” (in these examples and context) is only defined in terms of decisions and tradeoffs—it just doesn’t matter what you value or how much you value it if you can have everything. The valuation only comes into play when you have to give up something you value to get something you value more.