Death and How to Avoid It (...for a while)

2017-08-01 · explainer · John · 3:50 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Health (also: Personal life, Global development) · mode: Explainer · tags: heavy topic, self promotion

Prompted by reaching for Purell while driving, John explains that although human life is improving in almost every way, US preventable deaths from unintentional injury rose 23% (2010-2014) through falls, drug overdoses and car accidents; distracted driving is the main reason road deaths rose in 2015, and he reminds himself that inattentive driving is the greatest threat to his health. He ends with a Turtles signing update.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Intro; a child sneezes on his hands and he reaches for Purell while driving home from camp

• ★★ After one of his kids sneezed on his hands at camp drop-off, John searched the car's centre console for Purell while driving home: 'a tremendous and potentially fatal miscalculation'. (playful) — 00:00:07

00:00:28 — Human life is getting better, but wealth inequality is growing

• ★★ John says human life is getting better in almost every way: we are healthier, more prosperous and less likely to die from violence than ever. — 00:00:28 · progress
• ★★★ John says wealth inequality is growing, though still low by historical standards, which is bad for the poor and for the social order because it inhibits economic growth and socioeconomic mobility. — 00:00:39 · economic inequality, the social order

00:00:53 — US preventable deaths from unintentional injury: falls and drug overdoses; message to people living with substance abuse

• ★★★ John says that between 2010 and 2014 overall US preventable deaths fell, but preventable deaths by unintentional injury rose by 23%. — 00:00:53 · United States
• ★★ John says deaths from falls are rising mostly because the US population is getting older and older people are far more likely to die from falling. — 00:01:16 · United States
• ★★★ John says in 1992 Americans were over three times likelier to be murdered than to die of an overdose; today the reverse, partly as homicide rates fell almost 40% but mostly as overdoses soared. — 00:01:27
• ★★★ John says drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans under 50. — 00:01:46
• ★★★ John says the US drug abuse crisis is very complex, but what we are doing about it is clearly woefully inadequate. — 00:01:50 · United States
• ★★ John recommends a great Healthcare Triage series on the drug abuse crisis, linked in the description. — 00:01:53
• ★★★ John tells anyone living with substance abuse they are valuable and deserve love, support and wellness, that many live wonderful lives in recovery, and hopes they seek help today. (hedged) — 00:02:03

00:02:21 — Car accident deaths and distracted driving; inattentive driving is his greatest threat

• ★★★ John says the overall death rate from car accidents has fallen a lot since 1975 with safer cars, but rose by 7% in 2015. — 00:02:21
• ★★★ John says some of the 2015 rise is probably due to more miles driven as the economy improved, but most of it is due to distracted driving. (hedged) — 00:02:34
• ★★ John says too many of us use our phones while driving, play Pokemon Go, or reach for Purell. (playful) — 00:02:41
• ★★★ John says he did not crash, just as people texting while driving usually don't, but he dramatically raised his risk of dying or killing someone, far beyond the risk from the cold virus. — 00:02:46
• ★★★ John makes the video mostly as a reminder to himself that when driving, the greatest threat to his health is not a text or spit on his hands but inattentive driving. — 00:03:04
• ★★ Apologising for the PSA, John says there are so few things in life we can actually fix, and this is one of them. — 00:03:16

00:03:22 — Signing update and signed copies on Amazon; next video Thursday for Esther Day

• ★★ Signing update: John has about 34,000 copies to go, about 68 hours of signing, which he thinks is doable. (hedged) — 00:03:22 · Turtles All the Way Down
• ★★★ John says Amazon will soon run out of its signed Turtles All the Way Down copies, though bookstores across the US and Canada will have many, with updates at probablysignedturtles.com; Amazon buyers should buy now. (hedged) — 00:03:28 · Amazon, Turtles All the Way Down, United States, Canada
• ★ John tells Hank the next video will be on Thursday, for Esther Day. — 00:03:45 · Esther Day

In the description and comments

• ★★ John lists the video's sources: Healthcare Triage on the opioid crisis, Our World in Data on wealth inequality being lower than historical averages, CBS News on overdoses as the leading cause of death for Americans under 50, FBI figures on homicide rates, and Vox's newest stats on overdose deaths. — video description · economic inequality
• ★★ John adds that part of the reason the death rate from falls has risen is that deaths from falls are being tracked better. — video description
• ★★★ For anyone who needs help with substance abuse, John points to SAMHSA's treatment services locator and 24/7 English and Spanish helpline (1-800-662-4357), its lists of self-help groups and opioid treatment, the Addiction Recovery Guide's state-by-state directory, and the suicide prevention lifeline (1-800-273-8255). — video description
• ★★ John says Amazon has sold through its allocation of signed copies of Turtles All the Way Down; unsigned copies are still available for preorder there, and other places sell probably signed copies. — video description · Amazon, Turtles All the Way Down

Threads in this video

• restate · Is human life getting better; is now the best time to be alive? — John says human life is getting better in almost every way: we are healthier, more prosperous and less likely to die from violence than ever. (00:00:28)
• restate · Is extreme wealth, and the tax system that protects it, a problem? — John says wealth inequality is growing, though still low by historical standards, which is bad for the poor and for the social order because it inhibits economic growth and socioeconomic mobility. (00:00:39)
• progress update · John: sign at least 200,000 copies of Turtles All the Way Down (2017) — Signing update: John has about 34,000 copies to go, about 68 hours of signing, which he thinks is doable. (00:03:22)
• reminder · John asks viewers to pre-order signed copies of Turtles All the Way Down (2017) — John says Amazon will soon run out of its signed Turtles All the Way Down copies, though bookstores across the US and Canada will have many, with updates at probablysignedturtles.com; Amazon buyers should buy now. (00:03:28)

Where the stories that moved here went next

• John: sign at least 200,000 copies of Turtles All the Way Down (2017) — kept; last: recalled, 2021-04-02

Mentioned

Central: distracted driving · Drug overdose · preventable causes of death

Also: Projects: Healthcare Triage

Works: Pokémon Go · Turtles All the Way Down

Organizations: Amazon

Rituals: Esther Day

Terms: doobly-doo

Concepts: economic growth · economic inequality · falling (accident) · homicide · Population ageing · progress · social mobility · substance abuse · Texting while driving · Traffic collision

Places: Canada · United States

Products: Purell

Only in the description or credits: Addiction Recovery Guide · CBS News · Federal Bureau of Investigation · National Suicide Prevention Lifeline · opioid · Our World in Data · Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration · Vox

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