It’s not a crazier idea than most of Kennedy’s. Someone should do a study. Or make one up, nobody checks anymore.

    • CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social
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      8 days ago

      Couldn’t you still study populations with more or less plastic, even if “zero plastic” cant be found? Or is the amount of it more or less even across groups?

    • Neuromancer49@midwest.social
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      8 days ago

      Throwing in my $0.02, a correlation study is technically an option, where you look at differences as microplastics increase in concentration. But. my instinct is you would see some really unfortunate covariance - that is, another variable that increases (or decreases) at the same time as microplastics and is known to impact your variable of interest, e.g. socioeconomic status.

      • WraithGear@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        The stressors and demands on people a single generation separate are so vastly different that it would not work.

        • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          8 days ago

          Wouldn’t work in a serious scientific study, no. You’re absolutely correct. But since we’re setting the bar of inquiry at Kennedy levels…?

          I’m just trying to put aside my despair for a few minutes.

          • WraithGear@lemmy.world
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            8 days ago

            I am having to admit that human kindness and empathy only extends to one and theirs and to all others only competition and hate, that is the hallmark of humanity. The greatest trick ever performed was convincing anyone that it was ever not thus.

  • _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works
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    8 days ago

    It’s probably doing all sorts of bad shit including lowering intelligence in general.

    Oh guess what else lowers intelligence: Extreme heat and humidity!

  • Baggie@lemmy.zip
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    8 days ago

    I would like to think so, but humans historically have done some really uncomfortable shit ages before plastic turned up.

  • Salvo@aussie.zone
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    8 days ago

    I don’t think microplastics are having that effect.

    It could just as likely be the decrease in airborne Lead following the removal of Lead Paint and TetraEthyl Lead in Petrol has caused people to be much more aggressive.

    They still have the brain damage from growing up breathing in heavy metals, but no longer have the soporific effect of heavy metals.

  • Riskable@programming.dev
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    8 days ago

    I hate to break this to you but this shit level of empathy has been with humans for thousands of years. This is not a new phenomenon. It’s not caused by microplastics.

    What is new is empowering those without empathy to decide world leaders that have an obscene amount of power. That’s a relatively new development for humanity.

    • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      8 days ago

      Honestly, that’s been around forever too, whether by votes or force of arms… Come to think of it, it’s mostly the force of wealth and always has been.

      The love of money is the root of all evil etc

  • atocci@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    Probably. There has to be something going on, right? Microplastics are as good a guess as anything else.

    • go $fsck yourself@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Regardless of how shitty the DNC is, it seems to defy logic that anyone could support Trump, and yet half of the US does. Because of that, I can see why someone might start thinking there must be some sort of external cause or something.

      • Salvo@aussie.zone
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        7 days ago

        US self-entitlement.

        the land of the free has always had a “more important than every other country” mindset which has infected their citizens with the same selfish mindset.

        McCarthyism and subsequent witch-hunts have resulted in such an anti-socialist zeitgeist that it has morphed into an anti-social zeitgeist where any empathy for any other person is seen not only as a weakness, but as also being “Un-murikan”.

    • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      8 days ago

      I’m “trying” to link it to the recent rise of fascism. And general breakdown of society.

      You have a point though, a rise in stupidity is part and parcel of the same phenomenon.