Given the sharp decline in blood lead levels after the phase-out of leaded gasoline, lead exposure may seem to be a relic of the past. The reality is quite different, however. In a recent study by Bjorn Larsen and Ernesto Sánchez-Triana, the cost of lead exposure to the global population has been set out in data that are nothing short of shocking. The Study – What Did They Actually Do? Let's dissect it. Larsen and Sánchez-Triana intended to know the worldwide toll and economic cost of lead expos
  • 8BitRoadTrip@lemm.ee
    11·
    1 year ago

    This article leaves me with so many questions. Where is the lead coming from? What’s the average per person IQ loss? What’s the average per person life years lost due to excess cardiac mortality?

  • PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works
    10·
    1 year ago

    This “article” written about “research” is….weird. It’s very silly and doesn’t take its topic with the seriousness it deserves.

    Also, I have to think that there are other ways of measuring the harmful effects of lead besides IQ…I’m not saying they’re wrong, just that this article is weird.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      9·
      1 year ago

      IQ is a very poor measure of intelligence and mostly shows your aptitude for taking the type of test they give to measure IQ.

      You could be an absolutely brilliant Amazonian hunter-gatherer and you would fail every IQ test.

      Hell, I knew a guy- so illiterate that he could barely sign his own name- but he was one of the best fiddle players I ever saw. Was he smart or stupid?

      This is not to downplay the effect of lead on intelligence, I’m not saying it’s not there, I’m just saying this is a bad metric.

      • 30mag@lemmy.world
        3·
        1 year ago

        IQ is a very poor measure of intelligence and mostly shows your aptitude for taking the type of test they give to measure IQ.

        If you gave a hundred people an IQ test, and then have the same hundred people come back the next day, drink 350 mL of their 80 proof liquor of choice, and then take another IQ test, would you expect the average of the scores of the second IQ test be different from the average scores of the first test?

        I agree that IQ tests are not useful for comparing one person’s intelligence to one other person’s intelligence. I think some limitations of IQ tests can be overcome with good study design or good experiment design. I think they can be used as a benchmark, baseline, or reference for comparing groups of people, or a person’s score before they attended college to a score after graduation. That said, you have to keep the limitations of IQ tests in mind when drawing conclusions based on the data you have collected.

    • dragonflyteaparty@lemmy.world
      21·
      1 year ago

      This article is written so weird. It’s the lack of any reference to actual research. They’re just making a bunch of claims. Maybe it’s also the explanation points all over the place.