this post was submitted on 21 Dec 2024
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I have been thinking a lot since the election about what could explain the incredibly high numbers of Americans who seem incapable of critical thinking, or really any kind of high level rational thought or analysis.

Then I stumbled on this post https://old.reddit.com/r/guns/comments/16ires5/lead_exposure_from_shooting_is_a_much_more/

Which essentially explains that “Shooting lead bullets at firing ranges results in elevated BLLs at concentrations that are associated with a variety of adverse health outcome"

I looked at the pubmed abstract in that Reddit post and also this one https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5289032/

Which states, among other things, “Workers exposed to lead often show impaired performance on neurobehavioral test involving attention, processing, speed, visuospatial abilities, working memory and motor function. It has also been suggested that lead can adversely affect general intellectual performance.”

Now, given that there are well in excess of 300 million guns in the United States, is it possible lead exposure at least partially explains how brain dead many Americans seem to be?

This is a genuine question not a troll and id love to read some evidence to the contrary if any is available

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Probably not.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"you're brain dead, you've got aalmost as much lead as a motherfuckin bullet in ya head."

I doubt it's the main cause, widespread cultural phenomena are normally mostly generated by social interactions (words) and reinforcement, and demagogues (or so they often over-claim).

Poison like that will impact a fairly small proportion and takes a long time to impact and spread. Seems unlikey to be anything major. Besides which many more sources of lead poisoning from paint and leaded petrol, and water pipes and stuff - not specifiic to US and not specific to guns.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Lead pipes corrode internally very quickly. This corrosion prevents any significant amount of lead from entering the water. They should still be replaced of course, but the danger is way overstated.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Pretty sure it's much more prevalent than would be tied specifically to gun use as a catalyst, though...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I built a machine that pics up discharged round from the end of the shooting range. They had to wear so much protective gear to run this machine and were under strict regulations from the government. I had no idea how dangerous shooting ranges were.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

Lead, namely in its poor infrastructure and in old recipes that have survived to the present day, was also cited for the peoples' issues in the Roman Empire, discussed in contexts as wide as the common medical deformities and the madness of emperors like Caligula (spoiler alert, he wasn't actually mad, just creatively spiteful, e.g. his declaring war on Poseidon was to humiliate undisciplined soldiers). So this is not lead's first rodeo. I would give the research more time.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

It's also in the American water and air, so probably a minor contributing factor.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Your misstaking lead toxicity with religion.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

lead pipes, leaded gasoline, lead paint, lead sweetener …

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

We're leaders! /s

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 day ago

Equating votes for a particular candidate to an incapability of critical thinking is probably where your hypothesis breaks down the most

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)
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