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A pro-science, pro-progress, techno-optimistic health textbook from 1929

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Re: A pro-science, pro-progress, techno-optimistic health textbook from 1929

#21

Post by liontwist »

mmastrac wrote: post #2

It's amusing to see the early signs of the anti-vax movement here. The history of that movement is long. Humans are built to thrive in danger, chaos and instability. I think a good chunk of humans go insane in a safe and stable environment and resent the things that allow them to live mundane, safe lives -- technology, medicine and rational thinking. I think there's a certain amount of cherry-picking going on with th…

The growing movement is the one that views vaccines as a categorical good and wants to unperson those who see each individual treatment as a an engineered tool with its own risks and benefits.

If you know anything about marketing you know that for such messaging to be culturally pervasive is a result of years of effort and organizing.

Re: A pro-science, pro-progress, techno-optimistic health textbook from 1929

#22

Post by ceejayoz »

jazzyjackson wrote: post #14
genghisjahn wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Humans are built to thrive in danger, chaos and instability. I think a good chunk of humans go insane in a safe and stable environment and resent the things that allow them to live mundane, safe lives -- technology, medicine and rational thinking. And yet science says the opposite. The prevailing evidence suggests that humans are generally better suited to stable and safe environments, with danger and chaos typicall…

The safest and richest societies are also the most highly medicated, so I would question to what prevailing evidence you refer. For an extreme example one might consider soldiers / warfighters. Very high rates of trauma and suicidality after returning from war, and this is only anecdotal not first hand but I would be interested to know what the mental health of deployed soldiers looks like in comparison (certainly th…

> The safest and richest societies are also the most highly medicated...

That, alone, could point to two very obvious but very different conclusions.

One is that people in those societies need medications more.

Alternatively, people in these societies get needed medications more.

I suspect the average American gets more therapy than the average Afghan, but I suspect the Afghans would still benefit from it.

Re: A pro-science, pro-progress, techno-optimistic health textbook from 1929

#23

Post by rqtwteye »

profsummergig wrote: post #15
api wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is it about vaccines? Lots of anti-vaxxers are fine with other kinds of drugs and use them liberally, even in many cases street drugs. They'll eat fast food, processed food, use household chemicals, do all kinds of other things that expose them to things they don't understand and may not be good for them, but vaccines are just the devil incarnate. The word vaccine seems to provoke a visceral gut reaction among a…

RFK Jr. is such a case. Anti-vaxx, but uses something to boost his "jackedness". The dude is jacked for a >70 years old guy. Supposedly it's testosterone. If anyone knows what he uses to look so jacked, please share.

That's what he says: “I’m on an anti-aging protocol from my doctor that includes testosterone replacement,” Kennedy said. “I don’t take any anabolic steroids or anything like that and the TRT I use is bioidentical to what my body produces.”

I wouldn't be surprised if he mixed in a few other "vitamins"

Re: A pro-science, pro-progress, techno-optimistic health textbook from 1929

#24

Post by yesco »

tedeh wrote: post #10
api wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is it about vaccines? Lots of anti-vaxxers are fine with other kinds of drugs and use them liberally, even in many cases street drugs. They'll eat fast food, processed food, use household chemicals, do all kinds of other things that expose them to things they don't understand and may not be good for them, but vaccines are just the devil incarnate. The word vaccine seems to provoke a visceral gut reaction among a…

Fear of needles and having your skin pierced is my guess, at least for some.

I think it's simply the enforcement mechanisms make people paranoid, especially since they are usually directed at children (by schools), it all then snowballs from there.

I agree the needles don't help though.

Re: A pro-science, pro-progress, techno-optimistic health textbook from 1929

#25

Post by snozolli »

edflsafoiewq wrote: post #12
api wrote: post #5

Science has delivered a standard of living to most of the developed world that is greater than that of an Egyptian Pharaoh or a Roman Emperor in numerous ways: health, food, availability of information, ease of travel, physical comfort, etc. Yet visit social media and it's absolutely overflowing with gloom and doom and histrionic political rage and fear bait. Saw a thread recently on Reddit about how many young peopl…

People don't set their standard of a good life against a 3000 year old kingdom they've never seen or think about. Nor are they impressed when people resort to mining the ancient past or far-off countries for the deepest pits of misery they can find to make things sound good by comparison.

Nor are they impressed when people resort to mining the ancient past or far-off countries for the deepest pits of misery they can find to make things look good by comparison.

Practicing gratitude is a pretty common strategy for combating depression. If young people today in developed nations don't even understand how bad humans used to have it (and still do, in some places), how can they possibly be grateful for what they have?

Maybe AI-generated, historical influencers should be a thing. "Walked two miles to the river to fill my clay jug. Set my baby down and a croc took her."

Re: A pro-science, pro-progress, techno-optimistic health textbook from 1929

#26

Post by liontwist »

api wrote: post #5

Science has delivered a standard of living to most of the developed world that is greater than that of an Egyptian Pharaoh or a Roman Emperor in numerous ways: health, food, availability of information, ease of travel, physical comfort, etc. Yet visit social media and it's absolutely overflowing with gloom and doom and histrionic political rage and fear bait. Saw a thread recently on Reddit about how many young peopl…

Do exotic foods, information, entertainment, and travel make you happy? Or are they more like cheap substitutes for the real thing.

Re: A pro-science, pro-progress, techno-optimistic health textbook from 1929

#27

Post by ceejayoz »

Eumenes wrote: post #20
api wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is it about vaccines? Lots of anti-vaxxers are fine with other kinds of drugs and use them liberally, even in many cases street drugs. They'll eat fast food, processed food, use household chemicals, do all kinds of other things that expose them to things they don't understand and may not be good for them, but vaccines are just the devil incarnate. The word vaccine seems to provoke a visceral gut reaction among a…

[flagged]

> My body my choice?

If being pregnant was contagious, we'd treat it as a very different issue.

Re: A pro-science, pro-progress, techno-optimistic health textbook from 1929

#28

Post by rqtwteye »

tombert wrote: post #8
api wrote: post #5

Science has delivered a standard of living to most of the developed world that is greater than that of an Egyptian Pharaoh or a Roman Emperor in numerous ways: health, food, availability of information, ease of travel, physical comfort, etc. Yet visit social media and it's absolutely overflowing with gloom and doom and histrionic political rage and fear bait. Saw a thread recently on Reddit about how many young peopl…

I think people are extremely sensitive to the first derivative of things happening to them, with a very short time window. Even if your life is objectively better (by any measurement you want) than it would have been 500 years ago, is it better than it was a week ago?

You also tend to compare yourself to others. For example, I am not happy when CEO gets a 20% raise while telling the rest of us that money is tight and no raises can be given. We all want some level of fairness.

Re: A pro-science, pro-progress, techno-optimistic health textbook from 1929

#29

Post by ceejayoz »

rqtwteye wrote: post #23
profsummergig wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

RFK Jr. is such a case. Anti-vaxx, but uses something to boost his "jackedness". The dude is jacked for a >70 years old guy. Supposedly it's testosterone. If anyone knows what he uses to look so jacked, please share.

That's what he says: “I’m on an anti-aging protocol from my doctor that includes testosterone replacement,” Kennedy said. “I don’t take any anabolic steroids or anything like that and the TRT I use is bioidentical to what my body produces.” I wouldn't be surprised if he mixed in a few other "vitamins"

He's been convicted of heroin possession in the past.

Re: A pro-science, pro-progress, techno-optimistic health textbook from 1929

#30

Post by AlexandrB »

davidw wrote: post #16
mmastrac wrote: post #2

It's amusing to see the early signs of the anti-vax movement here. The history of that movement is long. Humans are built to thrive in danger, chaos and instability. I think a good chunk of humans go insane in a safe and stable environment and resent the things that allow them to live mundane, safe lives -- technology, medicine and rational thinking. I think there's a certain amount of cherry-picking going on with th…

> Humans are built to thrive in danger, chaos and instability. I think a good chunk of humans go insane in a safe and stable environment and resent the things that allow them to live mundane, safe lives -- technology, medicine and rational thinking. That's part of what Tom Nichols has been saying: https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2021/09/10/democracy-di...

I wonder if that's the real reason he wanted the US to start a war in Iraq: to alleviate the boredom of modern life.
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