http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/lead-crime-link-gasoline
This interesting article thinks so. What do you scientors think?
This interesting article thinks so. What do you scientors think?
[News] Could lead be directly responsible for society's woes?
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I think that's fascinating... I'm sceptical of the financial claims made at the end of the article though. Specifically the 10-to-1 return on investment. It doesn't seem like there's enough information there to justify those numbers, but otherwise he makes an excellent case for the lead-crime link and a plan to eliminate as much of the lead in our environment as humanly possible.
I've done both. House I grew up in was built in 1947, on top of that I would melt and cast my own wheelweight-based charms and then shine them up by polishing them with liquid mercury. At the age of 13.
My father would help out by hanging a crucible in his coal-converted-to-gas furnace to melt large quantities of wheelweight at once (as well as forcing any vapors through the house) since he made his own cast bullets at the time.
And I haven't had any heavy metal-related issues. Must have somehow inadvertently done a lot of chelating in my youth.
--Patrick
His argument seems thin to me. He glosses over some compelling evidence by others and doesn't address any potential confounding factors. It seems pretty biased from a scientific argument standpoint.
Necronic
Staff member
So, those two charts are pretty compelling until you remove the lead from the chart and just show Young Mothers vs Crime Rates. There are a plethora of questionable correlation = causation arguments made throughout the article, like the graphs with the lead in soil alongside household income (turns out heavy industries set up in the inner city which the affluent fled in the 50s).
I also agree with what MD said, he mentions some pretty compelling arguments, like the end of the crack era, which is a pretty good explanation, then just breezes right past it.
That said, its pretty much proven that excessive lead exposure is pretty bad for you. PatrThom and steinman seem to have done ok regardless, but what if, WHAT IF, without the lead they would have been supergeniuses/mad scientists bent on world domination.
Guess we have something to thank lead for after all eh?
I also agree with what MD said, he mentions some pretty compelling arguments, like the end of the crack era, which is a pretty good explanation, then just breezes right past it.
That said, its pretty much proven that excessive lead exposure is pretty bad for you. PatrThom and steinman seem to have done ok regardless, but what if, WHAT IF, without the lead they would have been supergeniuses/mad scientists bent on world domination.
Guess we have something to thank lead for after all eh?
I don't know which of us would have been the bad guy, but at least the carnage would be contained to southeast Michigan until one of us prevailed.
Because only one supergenius can own the world at a time. This is a rule
But surely geniuses of that level of intellect could figure out that it's better to share the world than to annihilate the world fighting over it. Sort of like a I-take-this-hemisphere-you-take-the-other deal. After all, what could you do with twenty gazillion dollars that you couldn't do with ten?
Or... maybe this has already happened. DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN...
Stienman and I are splitting 50/50.
I live in the hometown of the largest lead-zinc refinery in the world with mandatory lead testing of every child under the age of 6. There's nothing wrong with me *twitch*
Diesel fuel is incredibly popular in Europe and their IQs aren't dropping at staggering rates.
But seriously, correlation with causation should be trumpeted in big flashing letters above this article.
Diesel fuel is incredibly popular in Europe and their IQs aren't dropping at staggering rates.
But seriously, correlation with causation should be trumpeted in big flashing letters above this article.
Shhhhh! We agreed not to announce the decision until our respective armies of minions were fully operational!
It's the plumbing* that really did them in.
I have long maintained that the only thing keeping me from being a despised CEO of some megawealthy corporation is the fact that I'm too a) lazy and b) sympathetic to effectively do so.
--Patrick
*Lead, symbol Pb from the Latin "Plumbum" meaning "that stuff we make pipes out of"
Yeah it's far from conclusive and he does seem to be coming at it from "Yeah sure everything else explains it but this explains it best" but I do have to admit I love the article.
I mean come on it fits so well with all the other bad decisions made during the "greatest generation" with their hard smoking and raising the baby boomers. Why not also have them responsible for the crime epidemic?
I mean come on it fits so well with all the other bad decisions made during the "greatest generation" with their hard smoking and raising the baby boomers. Why not also have them responsible for the crime epidemic?
Oh, damn, that's right.
OK, ignore that, folks. Stienman and I are definitely not collaborating to take over the world. We are not planning on arming his vast army of children with specially trained doomweasels and sending them out to pillage.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Just remember Maxim 1: Pillage, then burn.
GasBandit
Staff member
In other words, he's not crazy, his mother had him tested.
Ooooo, good point. Let me write that down.
I think Maxim 13 will be my new slogan. "Do unto others."[DOUBLEPOST=1357365679][/DOUBLEPOST]"Doomweasel unto others!" Oh yes, much better.
I love this pain medication.
Why are you medicating? Aren't your own salty tears the only medication you require? That and the blood of your enemies, of course.
--Patrick
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