Stupidity redux - part 1
More and more, as I surf the internet, I fear for the human race. The stupidity of people both shock and disgust me. Jokes become facts and form the basis of peoples' opinions...opinions without context and without intelligence. Opinions without actual KNOWLEDGE. Take this little gem that's been circulating since Christ was a corporal:
There's no context, the "factual statistics" could be made up, but does anyone research it? Even if the numbers were marginally correct, this is meaningless. What defines an "accidental death"...malpractice suits? What about gun owners who kill someone on purpose (i.e. non-accidentally)? Why aren't those numbers mentioned? See, no context. Now, most smart people will see this as the joke it is...but people have actually used it to promote gun culture or the need for more malpractice legislation. Stupidity.
(A) The number of physicians in the U.S.: 700,000.
(B) Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year: 120,000
(Calculation) Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171
Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept of Health Human Services.
Now think about this:
(A) The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000 (Yes, that's 80 million..)
(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500.
(Calculation) The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is .000188
Statistics courtesy of FBI
So, statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.
Remember, "Guns don't kill people, doctors do."
FACT: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.
Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban doctors before this gets completely out of hand!!!!! Out of concern for the public at large, I withheld the statistics on lawyers and politicians for fear the shock would cause people to panic and seek medical attention!
There's no context, the "factual statistics" could be made up, but does anyone research it? Even if the numbers were marginally correct, this is meaningless. What defines an "accidental death"...malpractice suits? What about gun owners who kill someone on purpose (i.e. non-accidentally)? Why aren't those numbers mentioned? See, no context. Now, most smart people will see this as the joke it is...but people have actually used it to promote gun culture or the need for more malpractice legislation. Stupidity.
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