Live data from Hacker News

Getting your hands dirty is good for you

bbc.com

171–180 of 213 posts

Re: Getting your hands dirty is good for you

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To play devil's advocate, as a species we've spent the vast majority of our existence sleeping on the literal ground. It seems plausible there may be some adaptation to the electrical properties of being at the surface vs ensconced in synthetic materials above it. Granted there's no evidence for that as of yet, but there was a time when fiber in food was reasonably seen as just inefficient waste that couldn't be dige…

> as a species we've spent the vast majority of our existence sleeping on the literal ground This isn't true, though. For the majority of human history, humans set up grass and leaf bedding atop campfire ash, using animal furs for additional insulation when needed. Ash and leaves are electrical insulators.

Yeah, because sleeping directly on the ground leaches heat from your body too fast, because of said lack of insulation. Sleeping too directly on the ground is also particularly dangerous in survival scenarios, doubly so if you are cold or wet. A common mistake when assembling a temporary shelter is to spend all your time on the “roof” but very little on the “floor”.

Re: Getting your hands dirty is good for you

#172
post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's important to distinguish between spiritual energy like prana/chi and electricity. Science will never show that grounding has any measurable effect on the chemistry of the human body. But it also can't show how conscious awareness may affect quantum wave function collapse probabilities, allowing free will to migrate to the deterministic timeline in the multiverse that most supports its well-being. In other words,…

> But it also can't show how conscious awareness may affect quantum wave function collapse probabilities, allowing free will to migrate to the deterministic timeline in the multiverse that most supports its well-being. That’s true. Science can’t show a lot of things that aren’t real.

You're not wrong, but it's worth doing a deep dive into recent papers on multidimensional time and its relation to consciousness and free will.

Re: Getting your hands dirty is good for you

#173
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you would be cooked, but I had a hunch that obviously people already tried to see how long you could stay inside and yes there was a competition in Finland exactly for this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Sauna_Championships#2010... I said "was" because 2010 was, in fact, the last edition of the event: > On 7 August 2010, two competitors were removed from the sauna and brought to the hospital in critical con…

And one of them died.

> His death was aided by his use of strong painkillers and local anesthetic grease on his skin.

Re: Getting your hands dirty is good for you

#174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To play devil's advocate, as a species we've spent the vast majority of our existence sleeping on the literal ground. It seems plausible there may be some adaptation to the electrical properties of being at the surface vs ensconced in synthetic materials above it. Granted there's no evidence for that as of yet, but there was a time when fiber in food was reasonably seen as just inefficient waste that couldn't be dige…

> as a species we've spent the vast majority of our existence sleeping on the literal ground This isn't true, though. For the majority of human history, humans set up grass and leaf bedding atop campfire ash, using animal furs for additional insulation when needed. Ash and leaves are electrical insulators.

All those materials with the exception of animal furs are commonly found on or in the ground. Given the relative lack of multistory buildings throughout our history, that's basically just making the ground a few inches taller. The ground itself is highly varied as well, with various combinations of rock, dirt, sand, etc.

I was thinking more that in the developed world most people have much more separation from anything resembling the ground, both in terms of materials and physical distance that would substantially alter any electrical characteristics.

In the off chance I win the lottery I intend to fund serious robust studies of minor stuff like this. Would be the easiest placebo ever, just internally disconnect some of the mats.

Re: Getting your hands dirty is good for you

#175

Curious what people's thoughts here are on grounding as another benefit. Article talks about benefits of bacteria on the skin, but I'd say the other and maybe bigger benefit is discharge of electrical energy in our bodies to the ground. Which, can sounds weird depending. Some papers on the subject[0] talking about similar results as this article, almost implying that it's not the microbes, but grounding making the di…

If you live with someone, have them flip a coin every night to decide if your mat should be plugged in or not and log it in a private journal. Record your feelings in the morning. After a month, compare your reports to the state of the plug each night.

If you live alone, get 2 more identical cord. Have your mats cord and the unconnected ones going into a box. Blindly label the cords a b and c.

The unconnected ones end there, the real one continues to the mat. Cycle through your cords every evening. In the morning log your feelings and the cord used. After a month see which cord was the connected one and whether your feelings were correlated with that

Re: Getting your hands dirty is good for you

#176
post #111
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have some beef with the sunscreen people, mostly because of 3 things: - Skin cancer is by far the least deadly type of cancer and nearly always just requires some low-risk skin removal. - Getting a light tan feels amazing. Your whole body feels warmer. - Vitamin D.

Skin cancer may be less deadly than other types of cancer, but it is still far more deadly than not having cancer. Rattlesnake bites in the US have a lower mortality rate than skin cancer, are you gonna go trying to handle rattlesnakes without protection or safety measures?

Maybe if handling rattlesnakes regularly was associated with improved mental and physical health, the way regular sun exposure is.

Re: Getting your hands dirty is good for you

#177
post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't live in San Francisco, but I've heard stories...

The streets are power washed often enough that it's usually fine, at least if you're careful where you step.

Only when it comes to bulk piles of feces.

That powerwashing sprays it around everywhere though, and the contamination surface is massive.

Re: Getting your hands dirty is good for you

#178

Not just your hands. Walking barefoot, over all manner of surfaces, feels good, increases your connection to your surroundings, and slows you down. I've done it lots, both in the countryside and in the city. You have to watch out for spiky plants and fox shit in the country, and in the city you soon learn which surface textures require more care :-) "Where would I find enough leather to cover the entire surface of th…

Did you know that walking barefoot in the Southern US was how most people contracted hookworm? At is height an estimated 40% of the population in certain regions had the parasite which was know to cause a "mental haze". Some historians attribute the disease (again, contracted by walking barefoot outdoors) to have caused the stereotype of the "lazy slow southerner" [1]. Do you feel walking barefoot is worth the risk o…

It's also a likely contender for contributing to the spread of what people thought was smallpox after the arrival of Europeans to what became the U.S

Re: Getting your hands dirty is good for you

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I made the mistake of looking at /r/sauna on Reddit once or twice recently, and there was a lot of people doing very similar things. "I take my preworkout, do my exercise, then I sit for 12 minutes at 90 degrees in sauna, before three minutes in the cold plunge-pool at 8 degrees, before going to sauna again for 19 minutes and I finish with a seven minute warm shower". Just the thought of looking at a watch in a sauna…

If it's 90 degrees Celcius, I don't think you could sit there for an hour. If it's 90 american degrees, what kind of sauna is that?

Perhaps we are missing some details with respect to humidity?

If it's a very humid sauna at 90°F, then your body can't regulate itself with sweat evaporation.

Re: Getting your hands dirty is good for you

#180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you know that walking barefoot in the Southern US was how most people contracted hookworm? At is height an estimated 40% of the population in certain regions had the parasite which was know to cause a "mental haze". Some historians attribute the disease (again, contracted by walking barefoot outdoors) to have caused the stereotype of the "lazy slow southerner" [1]. Do you feel walking barefoot is worth the risk o…

But also, hookworm infections are known to suppress allergies and asthma, help inflammatory bowl disease, and improve insulin resistance in people with type 2 diabetes.

Just because your immune system is fighting for your life against a parasite and doesn't have time for side quests doesn't make contracting a parasite good for you
Post reply on HN