alt Hacker News> Does making tools more expensive really benefit anyone other than the companies which own the patents which make them more expensive?
I would pay thousands to avoid losing part of my hand. The increased price is a very good value, tens of dollars.
Look at rearview cameras. Cheap tech. Used to be a 1000+ USD option. Now that they are government mandated the manufacturers figured out how to include them for a couple hundred dollars.
Price goes up, but just a little. Money well spent.
> I would pay thousands to avoid losing part of my hand.
I cut off the distal segment of my right thumb on a table saw in 1995. The initial bill, before I disputed it and received a "professional courtesy discount", was $25k.
So, you can pay a relatively small price to avoid losing part of your hand, or you can gamble that it will never happen, and then pay a high price for losing part of your hand.
Pretty simple choice to me.
ps.
Doctor: what do want to do with the rest of your life?
Me: well, I'm a programmer right now, but I'd rather be farmer
Doctor: I know a lot of farmers with less digits than you still have, and you'll still be able to hit the space bar as-is.