How Much Is A Human Being Worth?

Ans: About the market value and resale value of a jar of table salt.


Element - Mass of element in a 70-kg person

oxygen 43 kg

carbon 16 kg

hydrogen 7 kg

nitrogen 1.8 kg

calcium 1.0 kg

phosphorus 780 g

potassium 140 g

sulfur 140 g

sodium 100 g

chlorine 95 g

magnesium 19 g

iron 4.2 g

fluorine 2.6 g

zinc 2.3 g

silicon 1.0 g

rubidium 0.68 g

strontium 0.32 g

bromine 0.26 g

lead 0.12 g

copper 72 mg

aluminum 60 mg

cadmium 50 mg

cerium 40 mg

barium 22 mg

iodine 20 mg

tin 20 mg

titanium 20 mg

boron 18 mg

nickel 15 mg

selenium 15 mg

chromium 14 mg

manganese 12 mg

arsenic 7 mg

lithium 7 mg

cesium 6 mg

mercury 6 mg

germanium 5 mg

molybdenum 5 mg

cobalt 3 mg

antimony 2 mg

silver 2 mg

niobium 1.5 mg

zirconium 1 mg

lanthanium 0.8 mg

gallium 0.7 mg

tellurium 0.7 mg

yttrium 0.6 mg

bismuth 0.5 mg

thallium 0.5 mg

indium 0.4 mg

gold 0.2 mg

scandium 0.2 mg

tantalum 0.2 mg

vanadium 0.11 mg

thorium 0.1 mg

uranium 0.1 mg

samarium 50 µg

beryllium 36 µg

tungsten 20 µg


Humans are cheap. From a logical and scientific perspective we are nothing more than deluded carbon, salts and simple sugars thinking to ourselves we have some value beyond decaying in the soil to nourish plant life.

I personally don't accept a purely scientific view of the world and the life all around us. But this here is the solid truth when people ask what a human life is worth, what value a human has to the world.

It's something like $ 2.50, or less. When we are disassembled to our base components there is nothing to look at except a small pile of materials from the chemistry room. Rather mundane ones at that.

That is provided we define "worth" as having to do with money, which we all know is the only thing that matters anyway.