The safest place in time and space

[TonyBelch]

What about Thiland? There has never been a war in Thiland.

[Clinton Huxley]

What about Thiland? There has never been a war in Thiland.

It's not just war, it's violent deaths in general.

[TonyBelch]

What about Thiland? There has never been a war in Thiland.

It's not just war, it's violent deaths in general.

True. But there hasn't been a war or genocide in Thiland so I doub't it could possibly stand as worse than Europe as a whole given 2 massive wars and the Holocaust. You'd pretty much have to exterminate the entire Thia population many times over to reach those sorts of numbers.

[Clinton Huxley]

What about Thiland? There has never been a war in Thiland.

It's not just war, it's violent deaths in general.

True. But there hasn't been a war or genocide in Thiland so I doub't it could possibly stand as worse than Europe as a whole given 2 massive wars and the Holocaust. You'd pretty much have to exterminate the entire Thia population many times over to reach those sorts of numbers.

We are taking about western Europe, now, having the lowest rate of violent death ever recorded in history. People believe th 20th century to be uniquely violent but the stats don't really bear that out. Tamerlane would butcher every man, woman and child in a captured city, without a second thought, Bayezit had 10,000 captured enemy troops beheaded for a laugh. Your chance of a violent death in a pre-state society could be 1 in 4 or higher.

We don't know how lucky we are sometimes.

[FBM]

Thailand? Maybe not full-blown war, but if you survive the ladyboys and AIDS, there are the Islamic insurgents blowing up shit left and right in the south, border skirmishes with both Cambodia and Burma, typhoons, cobras and other poisonous snakes spiders and insects, and most dangerous of all, gaggles of ex-prostitutes who will do anything to marry you. Don't get me wrong, I love Thailand. But not for its safety factor. As far as safety goes, you may as well practice gymnastics on the lip of Mt. Kilauea.

[klr]

What about Thiland? There has never been a war in Thiland.

It's not just war, it's violent deaths in general.

True. But there hasn't been a war or genocide in Thiland so I doub't it could possibly stand as worse than Europe as a whole given 2 massive wars and the Holocaust. You'd pretty much have to exterminate the entire Thia population many times over to reach those sorts of numbers.

We are taking about western Europe, now, having the lowest rate of violent death ever recorded in history. People believe th 20th century to be uniquely violent but the stats don't really bear that out. Tamerlane would butcher every man, woman and child in a captured city, without a second thought, Bayezit had 10,000 captured enemy troops beheaded for a laugh. Your chance of a violent death in a pre-state society could be 1 in 4 or higher.

We don't know how lucky we are sometimes.

Indeed. Which is the point of Steven Pinker's latest book. If only I had the time to read it in detail.

[Clinton Huxley]

What about Thiland? There has never been a war in Thiland.

It's not just war, it's violent deaths in general.

True. But there hasn't been a war or genocide in Thiland so I doub't it could possibly stand as worse than Europe as a whole given 2 massive wars and the Holocaust. You'd pretty much have to exterminate the entire Thia population many times over to reach those sorts of numbers.

We are taking about western Europe, now, having the lowest rate of violent death ever recorded in history. People believe th 20th century to be uniquely violent but the stats don't really bear that out. Tamerlane would butcher every man, woman and child in a captured city, without a second thought, Bayezit had 10,000 captured enemy troops beheaded for a laugh. Your chance of a violent death in a pre-state society could be 1 in 4 or higher.

We don't know how lucky we are sometimes.

Indeed. Which is the point of Steven Pinker's latest book. If only I had the time to read it in detail.

Indeed it is. Got it for Xmas. Just need to develop sufficient musculature to hold the monolithic tome up to read it.

[Horwood Beer-Master]

I'm sure the leafy eastern suburbs of Melbourne are even safer!

A bit flammable, surely?

[Rum]

I would say before the Big Bang, but as Hawking says, asking what there was before the Big Bang is like asking how you go further south once you have reached the South Pole!

[JimC]

I'm sure the leafy eastern suburbs of Melbourne are even safer!

A bit flammable, surely?

If you go too far east, into the eucalyptus clad mountains, certainly... But not in suburbia where dwelleth I...

[Tyrannical]

Factoid - as far as can be determined, Western Europe at the current time is the safest place in human history, the time and place where you are least likely to die a violent death.

I read it in a book and am jolly pleased I am about it.

There's an app for that now

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blog ... echnology/