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Lead poisoning causes more death, IQ loss than thought: study

medicalxpress.com

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Re: Lead poisoning causes more death, IQ loss than thought: study

#3
Question for any IQ skeptics here (e.g. "it just measures your ability to take tests" or "it just tells you how rich your parents are"): what's your response to studies like this? Is there anything that can be said about the effect of lead on cognitive function? Why might IQ be a good measure of lead-induced stupidification, but unreliable for literally anything else?

Re: Lead poisoning causes more death, IQ loss than thought: study

#5
post #3

Question for any IQ skeptics here (e.g. "it just measures your ability to take tests" or "it just tells you how rich your parents are"): what's your response to studies like this? Is there anything that can be said about the effect of lead on cognitive function? Why might IQ be a good measure of lead-induced stupidification, but unreliable for literally anything else?

[flagged]

Re: Lead poisoning causes more death, IQ loss than thought: study

#6
I'd like to point out that, although it is illegal to put lead in water supply lines in the US, there is a loophole that allows it in hot water lines.

As a result, for certain fittings, most big-box hardware stores only sell the leaded variants, and label them "hot water heater supply line" or something similar.

Re: Lead poisoning causes more death, IQ loss than thought: study

#7
post #2

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Jet fuel never contained lead. (re: "chemtrails")

Old small piston-engined aircraft are now in the processes of validating and phasing out leaded fuel.

The primary sources of lead people consume will be from industrial pollution, old paint, and old water pipes.

Re: Lead poisoning causes more death, IQ loss than thought: study

#8
post #3

Question for any IQ skeptics here (e.g. "it just measures your ability to take tests" or "it just tells you how rich your parents are"): what's your response to studies like this? Is there anything that can be said about the effect of lead on cognitive function? Why might IQ be a good measure of lead-induced stupidification, but unreliable for literally anything else?

It's possible for IQ to be a good population measure while being a poor individual measure. (FWIW, I think proponents and opponents of IQ testing all overstate their cases.)

Re: Lead poisoning causes more death, IQ loss than thought: study

#9
post #5
post #3

Question for any IQ skeptics here (e.g. "it just measures your ability to take tests" or "it just tells you how rich your parents are"): what's your response to studies like this? Is there anything that can be said about the effect of lead on cognitive function? Why might IQ be a good measure of lead-induced stupidification, but unreliable for literally anything else?

[flagged]

Critical race theory explains IQ differences between socioeconomic groups (including races) extremely well.

Re: Lead poisoning causes more death, IQ loss than thought: study

#10
post #3

Question for any IQ skeptics here (e.g. "it just measures your ability to take tests" or "it just tells you how rich your parents are"): what's your response to studies like this? Is there anything that can be said about the effect of lead on cognitive function? Why might IQ be a good measure of lead-induced stupidification, but unreliable for literally anything else?

I think it's a pretty straightforward thing: intelligence somewhat correlates with life/career outcomes overall, and it's not linear. Separately, IQ tests are reasonably good, though imperfect measures of general intelligence. Also separately, if you look at careers where high intelligence is needed, then IQ correlates much better.

IQ does not principally measure test-taking abilities or SES. Yes, those correlations exist, but their effect sizes are not nearly as large as a certain political ideologies would have you believe. And simultaneously, it's not as ironclad as the other political ideology would have you believe. It's very reliable as these things go, but noisy at the margin.

EDIT: a sibling comment correctly points out that aggregate effects do not always apply individuals.

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