It feels great to stumble upon an #ACX post validating your own idea:

“I’m disappointed that no one has ever tried expanding the #QALY concept to things outside health care before. It’s not that I think it will work. It’s that I think it will fail to work in a different way than our naive opinions fail to work, and we might learn something from it.”

https://slatestarcodex.com/2013/05/02/if-its-worth-doing-its-worth-doing-with-made-up-statistics/

#ScottAlexander #SSC

Ultimately, everything you do, don’t do, consume, use, avoid or covet should work towards that goal of maximising your #wellbeing or the well-being of others, right? What better unit than “QALY” for that?

“Currency” carries too much psychological and ideological baggage, and it keeps the spotlight in one very specific dimension (ie, money).

“Time” is better, but it ignores the vital distinction between time spent and time well spent (remember: it’s “live long and prosper” not just “live long”).

I know it sounds far-fetched right now, but a much more refined definition of #QALY could be used to estimate the expected value of all products, habits and public policies — and to measure their impact in hindsight.