Death and Dying : November 7

[drgrissom.livejournal.com]

Welcome to class everyone. I was very impressed by your midterms, and enjoyed reading them over the weekend. If you would like an update on your progress, feel free to approach me after class.

Lecture and Handouts on Odds of Dying

Looking at the statistics I gave you, are you surprised by any of the numbers? Shocked? Amused? Disgusted? Why or why not?


For class on Wednesday, please read these materials on spontaneous combustion. And if you have any scientific question on the matter, I ask you wait until class on Wednesday to ask me directly, and do not consult other teachers, like, let's say, Ms. Sidle. And if you ask her, don't tell her it is for this class. Uhhh... thanks.

[Right, it's Monday. I knew that. *Head/Face/Fists/Assorted Limbs + Desk*]

Comments

[marieann-d.livejournal.com]

"Only 5 people died of fireworks discharge? From all the fuss they make about it, I'd have thought it'd be higher." Rogue shrugs. "Guess 4th of July isn't so dangerous after all."

[drgrissom.livejournal.com]

Grissom nods, "More people died of venomous spider bites than fireworks. Some types of deaths receive more publicity than others due to the nature of the accident, and that leads the public to believe in some cases that there is a higher probability of suffering that type of accidental death. However, this doesn't take into account how many people are burned or otherwise injured by fireworks, which surely is a much higher number."

[marieann-d.livejournal.com]

Rogue considers this and nods. "True. My little brother has a nifty scar on his arm from a bottle rocket." She shrugs. "But it still shows that there's a, a, kind of panic that the media perpetuates about it. I wonder what the stats are on injury?"

[drgrissom.livejournal.com]

"Up to 10,000 people a year are treated in emergency rooms, and many of those are children," Grissom says solemnly. "Maybe in this case, the media's perpetuation of the dangers are a bit false, but ultimately has an effect on the population that is positive. The threat of death might keep someone from fooling around with fireworks, but maybe just the chance of injury isn't enough to dissuade some from dangerous activities that could hurt a child. Although that doesn't seem to stop some people."