(July 6, 2015 at 1:10 pm)robvalue Wrote: ... I never understand it being called the "coward's way out" because a coward would not be able to follow it through.
I agree. It is really just a pathetic argumentum ad hominem to try to dissuade people from doing it. There is an instinctive fear of killing oneself, and it takes courage to overcome that.
(July 6, 2015 at 1:10 pm)robvalue Wrote: ...
As for guns, I'm surprised to hear the success rate is that low. ...
One cannot properly aim a gun at a vital part of one's body. For example, it is impossible to look down the sights of a gun while aiming it at your head. Just hitting your head may not kill you. I have heard horror stories of people sticking guns in their mouths and blowing a hole in the back of their necks, but living. Of course, such a wound affects one's quality of life.
Also, holding a gun at your temple is not enough to guarantee success either; the exact angle that it is held matters.
If you were going to go with the gun in the mouth approach, you would probably want to select a double-barrel large bore (10-12 gauge) shotgun, and use one's toe to pull the trigger. And be located as far from a hospital as possible. And maybe use a couple of large mirrors to see if one seems to have the angle right. But I would rather use euthanasia in a country where it is legal, as it will be less likely to have an undesired outcome.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
