I think I under-explained my dissatisfaction with the comparison. Airlines are subsidized and regulated for a lot of purposes, the obvious one being to move people from point A to point B. This analogizes well to medicine being about treating injuries and clearly-defined diseases A, B, and C. Airlines and medicine both do that level of job pretty well, though medicine is much more constrained in cost-optimization for various reasons.
The less-clear purpose of “improving health outcomes” or “average life extension” for medicine would be better compared to air travel goals like “connecting the world” or “bringing people together”. Or perhaps “improving location satisfaction”. Which air travel does a bit, but not very well because it’s not universal or simple.
I think I under-explained my dissatisfaction with the comparison. Airlines are subsidized and regulated for a lot of purposes, the obvious one being to move people from point A to point B. This analogizes well to medicine being about treating injuries and clearly-defined diseases A, B, and C. Airlines and medicine both do that level of job pretty well, though medicine is much more constrained in cost-optimization for various reasons.
The less-clear purpose of “improving health outcomes” or “average life extension” for medicine would be better compared to air travel goals like “connecting the world” or “bringing people together”. Or perhaps “improving location satisfaction”. Which air travel does a bit, but not very well because it’s not universal or simple.