From previous posts about this setting, the background assumption is that the child almost certainly won’t permanently die if it takes 15 seconds longer to reach them. This is not Earth. Even if they die, their body should be recoverable before their brain degrades too badly for vitrification and future revival. It is also stated that the primary character here is far more selfish than usual.
However even on Earth, we do accept economic reasons for delaying rescue by even a lot more than 15 seconds. We don’t pay enough lifeguards to patrol near every swimmer, for example, which means that when they spot a swimmer in distress it takes at least 15 more seconds to reach them. In nearly every city, a single extra ambulance team could reduce average response time to medical emergencies by a great deal more than 15 seconds. There doesn’t seem to be any great ethical outcry about this, though there are sometimes newspaper articles when the delays go past a few extra hours.
What’s more these are typically shared, public expenses (via insurance if nothing else). One of the major questions addressed in the post is whether the extra cost should be borne by the rescuer alone. Is that ethically relevant, or is it just an economic question of incentives?
From previous posts about this setting, the background assumption is that the child almost certainly won’t permanently die if it takes 15 seconds longer to reach them.
Sure, whatever.
Honestly, that answer makes me want to engage with the article even less. If the idea is that you’re supposed to know about an entire fanfiction-of-a-fanfiction canon to talk about this thought experiment, then I don’t see what it’s doing in the Curated feed.
From previous posts about this setting, the background assumption is that the child almost certainly won’t permanently die if it takes 15 seconds longer to reach them. This is not Earth. Even if they die, their body should be recoverable before their brain degrades too badly for vitrification and future revival. It is also stated that the primary character here is far more selfish than usual.
However even on Earth, we do accept economic reasons for delaying rescue by even a lot more than 15 seconds. We don’t pay enough lifeguards to patrol near every swimmer, for example, which means that when they spot a swimmer in distress it takes at least 15 more seconds to reach them. In nearly every city, a single extra ambulance team could reduce average response time to medical emergencies by a great deal more than 15 seconds. There doesn’t seem to be any great ethical outcry about this, though there are sometimes newspaper articles when the delays go past a few extra hours.
What’s more these are typically shared, public expenses (via insurance if nothing else). One of the major questions addressed in the post is whether the extra cost should be borne by the rescuer alone. Is that ethically relevant, or is it just an economic question of incentives?
Sure, whatever.
Honestly, that answer makes me want to engage with the article even less. If the idea is that you’re supposed to know about an entire fanfiction-of-a-fanfiction canon to talk about this thought experiment, then I don’t see what it’s doing in the Curated feed.