# So this guy has the power to cure cancer, but there's this tiny little problem... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 7, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657 "2010-03-07T21:38:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/21 "2010-03-07T22:52:45Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > What if he heals a child who grows up to be Hitler? Break out the acid glue. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/22 "2010-03-07T22:58:22Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > What the hell? > > The universe doesn’t **want** anything. At least, not in my world view, and I’ve always presumed not in yours. The universe gives no sign of sentience that I am aware of; and in the unlikely event that there is a God, He/She/It/They gives every indication of not giving a good goddamn about any of us one way or the other. (Or, maybe, is actively evil.) > > The universe doesn’t want anybody to live or die or marry only someone of a given gender or pay tithes, because, my affection for Marvel Comics notwithstanding, it is not a person. Similarly, evolution doesn’t want anything and has neither purpose nor aim. > > It makes sense for, say–let me find someone I feel safe insulting–it’s makes sense for John Edward, Pat Robertson, or similar nincompoops to talk about the universe wanting things. But you are not a nincompoop, and I am honestly curious as to why you would opine otherwise. > > Anyway, I’m pretty much at war with nature as it is. If the Rhymers surrendered to nature, I’d be dead from diabetes, and my favorite niece would have died of a congenital heart defect. If the universe wants that, the universe can go fuck itself. > > As to thinking the worst of people: what, you assume that every single guy in your office is planning to rape every single woman, in revenge for the way every single woman in that office has cut off another man’s penis? I was being figurative, but your premise already changed the normal laws of the universe, so you can’t go back to being an atheist now. The earth does not have infinite resources. The health of any species relies on a robust and consistent death rate. I would very seriously question whether halting or significantly retarding the death rate would ultimately be a wise thing to do. The world is overpopulated as it is. As to thinking the worst of people, I was being satirical, but in all seriousness, there’s no reason to assume the best about them either. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/23 "2010-03-08T12:05:33Z")
Even if this was in a country where the death penalty was done right, I’d still support not executing him until he refuses to heal someone. Unlike most serial killers there’s actually value in keeping him alive, so my usual belief that he should be disposed of efficiently doesn’t apply. I say let him live in a cell providing healings, but the moment he hesitates, he’s dogmeat. (i.e. like the second option, but with “execute” instead of “beat”) On the other hand, the existence of one man with supernatural powers tells us something very important: that supernatural powers are possible. This means we should keep two things in mind: that other people who _aren’t_ serial killers might have similar powers, and that this serial killer could conceivably have other, more dangerous supernatural powers. Both of these improve the benefits of just thoroughly killing the bastard and hoping it sticks. ---
**Author:** ![GreatStuffMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f04885/32.png) [@GreatStuffMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreatStuffMan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/24 "2010-03-08T13:08:44Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Research him as he does his healings. > > We execute people because they deserve it and there’s no way of paying society back for what they’ve done except death. But this guy has a way of giving back. Let him do it. This! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/25 "2010-03-08T13:20:37Z")
I oppose the Death Sentence in general, so in the end it just boils down to what do you do with him as he ages in prison? Which I think is a far less interesting question. IOW, I think your initial premise of presenting a dilemma between killing him and utilizing him is a false one. Put him in the slammer for life, no parole. He may or may not be willing to heal victims (which ones though? That’s going to be a real hornets’ nest!) This willingness may be influenced somewhat by the conditions of his incarceration… 😃 And I see no problem with that. When he dies of old age (or cancer…? now **that** would be ironic!) **then** cut him up in ribbons 1" wide for all I care. ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/26 "2010-03-08T13:57:37Z")
I voted hookers and blow on general principle, but I think **Happy Lendervedder** brings up a good point. The number of people this asshole can cure in the course of his “career” is going to be relatively small compared to the total number of cancer patients currently in existence, and microscopic compared to the potential number of _future_ cancer patients. There’s a risk/reward issue here. If we let him work there’s a guarantee that he will cure a certain smallish number of patients, but if we dissect him and put a crack team of scientists on him there’s a reasonable chance that we might be able to come up with a device/concoction/gene that replicates his abilites and allow us to effectively eliminate the disease altogether. The flipside of course is that we might end up killing the golden goose and get diddly squat, but I think the difference in scope between the two good outcomes makes a very strong case for putting him under the scalpel as soon as possible. Of course we can wait until he dies and dissect him then, but who’s to say his abilities aren’t going to run out or expire? What if he gets hit by a falling elephant? Or puts himself on fire out of spite? And how many will die of cancer in the lost time? ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/27 "2010-03-08T14:37:33Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I was being figurative, but your premise already changed the normal laws of the universe, so you can’t go back to being an atheist now. > > The earth does not have infinite resources. The health of any species relies on a robust and consistent death rate. I would very seriously question whether halting or significantly retarding the death rate would ultimately be a wise thing to do. The world is overpopulated as it is. > > As to thinking the worst of people, I was being satirical, but in all seriousness, there’s no reason to assume the best about them either. Mystical nature of this guys power aside, what’s the difference between him and medical science? Things are routinely cured (or mitigated thus extending lifespan) today which were a death sentence in the very near past. Are you anti medicine in general? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/28 "2010-03-08T14:44:39Z")
Kill him and never let the knowledge of his power spread to the population. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/29 "2010-03-08T15:23:52Z")
Doesn’t the OP basically describe an exaggerated version of the deal the American people had with Dick Cheney? My take on the guy (in the OP, not specifically Dick Cheney) is that if we make some kind of deal to leave him alive and let him heal people, he will eventually (on his deathbed) reveal that he’s scammed us all along. He could really have healed an _unlimited_ number of people _effortlessly_ – so while we thought he was laboriously healing a few hundred over the course of decades, he was actually killing _every other cancer patient on Earth_ at the time (through inaction) except the few he healed for appearances, thus furthering his serial-killing career to unheard-of totals. But I was raised in the Twilight Zone. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/30 "2010-03-08T15:31:26Z")
“Clone him” is a great experiment 🙂 Anyway. Several choices depend on unknown facts, and may or may not present a dilemma. 1. If there weren’t any moral question about the healer (suppose it were a goose instead of a human), what would be the most medically useful approach? Probably to study as many healings as possible, and dissect the goose on death. If so, dissection is a red herring: if he’s going to die anyway, there’s no reason not to dissect him[1]. And if you want to do the best thing for science you should have him cure people directly. The choice is still between “punish him or take advantage of his ability the best way possible” Conversely, if there were a pressing medical benefit to dissecting him, well, that ties in with his already-existing punishment. [1] Traditionally the next-of-kin would have to consent, but for such an important gain and small price, I would be happy to nationalise ownership of his remains. 1. Most people, even people who do really, really evil things, would choose to help dying people, rather than NOT help dying people. Even if not, if given life-in-prison, with sufficient but bland food and exercise, they would do so in exchange for comparatively small luxurious. Only in the unlikely event that he sticks to his bargaining position is the real dilemma exposes (but suppose it is.) OK, on to my own opinions. I don’t think life-in-prison, even being allowed to keep in good physical condition, is that much better than death, so I don’t really care which he suffers, if there’s a choice between them. (The biggest risk I’d see is that people may release or torture him later on.) In terms of immediate cost vs immediate benefit, some amount of torture may be justified. OTOH, though it’s a difficult and painful decision, I think that that setting that precedent is NOT worth it. Whatever you do, any news coverage at all is likely to be very painful for the victims families so should be kept to a minimum. If it does come down to bargaining with him, I’m not sure which I’d choose ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/31 "2010-03-08T16:31:19Z")
Killing him would just make him dead without bringing any of his victims back to life. But keeping him alive in a secure facility will prevent him from killing any more people but will also save the lives of dozens of people who would otherwise die. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/32 "2010-03-08T16:48:25Z")
A related thread: [Variation of Skald’s killer/healer poll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=555083) ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/33 "2010-03-08T16:59:34Z")
Execute him. We don’t let billionaires buy their way out of a sentence by donating all their money to charity. Why let him do what is essentially the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/34 "2010-03-08T18:22:18Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I was being figurative, but your premise already changed the normal laws of the universe, so you can’t go back to being an atheist now. Sure I can. I can’t FLY. I CAN go back to being an atheist whenever I feel like it. Or, I should say, I **could**. Because I didn’t stop being an atheist.\* My premise, silly though it is, not not suppose that God or any gods exist–only that something happened that we could not explain. It’s explicit in the OP that the healer does not claim to be a deity or angel. > [@](#): > > The earth does not have infinite resources. The health of any species relies on a robust and consistent death rate. I would very seriously question whether halting or significantly retarding the death rate would ultimately be a wise thing to do. The world is overpopulated as it is. Well, so what? If he squanders his power (i.e., uses them to heal any old cancer patient, regardless of whether they could be helped by normal therapies) the healer can heal about 180 people a year. If he is more judicious in his choices, he can probably do somewhere between 12 & 52. That’s not going to change the balance of population. Moreover, all the people the healer, um, heals are going to die of something else anyway. Death always wins, as time, entropy, and finitude are all on its side. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t kick it in the metaphorical nads as often as possible. Moreover, deaths by cancer are often torturous, and the healer has the ability to prevent a lot of needless pain. I support that without reservation. > [@](#): > > As to thinking the worst of people, I was being satirical, but in all seriousness, there’s no reason to assume the best about them either. There’s plenty of reasons to assume the best of people, but that’s another thread. Leaving that aside, assuming that a randomly chosen cancer patient is not destined to become the next Pol Pot is hardly thinking the best of him. It’s just going with the numbers. _Genocidal maniacs are extremely rare_. Serial killers are less rare, but still a tiny portion of the population. \*I’m an agnostic, for one thing. Well–technical agnostic, practical atheist, fan of Thor & Athena who sometimes pretends to have conversation with Aslan. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/35 "2010-03-08T18:34:34Z")
What if fucking small children gave him his magical power to heal others? The children live through it, so it’s not like exchanging a life for a life. (Remember Mr Burns needed the blood of a young boy?) What then, huh? Huh? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/36 "2010-03-08T18:43:05Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > What if fucking small children gave him his magical power to heal others? The children live through it, so it’s not like exchanging a life for a life. (Remember Mr Burns needed the blood of a young boy?) > > What then, huh? Huh? Start your own thread if you want to discuss THAT. 😃 It’s implicit in the OP, I thought, that he doesn’t know the provenance of his power. Perhaps I should have made it explicit. I would share the concern expressed earlier the thread that his mojo comes as a consequence of his killing, 'cept that the guy’s clearly been in prison for years and presumably hasn’t offed anybody. After all, he’s exhausted all his appeals, and that takes a while. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/37 "2010-03-08T18:51:15Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > What if fucking small children gave him his magical power to heal others? The children live through it, so it’s not like exchanging a life for a life. (Remember Mr Burns needed the blood of a young boy?) > > What then, huh? Huh? Then you kill him, and anyone evil enough to suggest going along with it. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/38 "2010-03-08T18:59:28Z")
I think it would be a tougher decision of the possessor of the healing powers was actually a nice, upstanding citizen - are you going to force a regular citizen to do healings whether he wants to or not? How would you justify keeping a regular citizen in a lab to do healings and be studied? (Assuming that word of his powers gets out and everyone knows about them now.) ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/39 "2010-03-08T19:03:35Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I think it would be a tougher decision of the possessor of the healing powers was actually a nice, upstanding citizen - are you going to force a regular citizen to do healings whether he wants to or not? How would you justify keeping a regular citizen in a lab to do healings and be studied? (Assuming that word of his powers gets out and everyone knows about them now.) Couldn’t you just pay him good money to do it 8 hours a day? Edit: Of course, the REAL question is can I still dissect him? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657/40 "2010-03-08T19:11:32Z")
> [@Gustav](#): > > Couldn’t you just pay him good money to do it 8 hours a day? Exactly what I was going to suggest. If he’s saving you $X million a year in cancer treatments, just give him half for a 35 minute work week and you’re _still_ better off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-guy-has-the-power-to-cure-cancer-but-theres-this-tiny-little-problem/531657.md?page=3)