[aidepast]

I'm not sure if this is directly related, but: I have PTSD & OCD, and when I peruse Google Scholar for information about toxicology, or the effects of air pollution on the brain, or how cats potentially carry T. Gondii & can infect you, or how we absorb things such as BHT transdermally through our hands from holding a cars polymer steering wheel, et cetera; I feel that it fuels my mental illness in a great way. If I did not possess all of this information, then I'd probably be significantly moreso functional than I am.

It feels as if they are "information hazards" as I act exactly as the people do in your aneurysm example; I wash my hands for 10+ minutes when the risk is probably nominal, and so on. That 0.5% risk from your example absolutely "plays on my mind".

>"you'll never win a Nobel prize if you don't decontaminate your hands because the pollutant will absorb through your skin, into your blood, and then into your brain, and probably lower your IQ!"

Your imagination runs wild in such desperation.

[whatshisface]

Would it help if you had the balancing knowledge that washing your hands for 10+ minutes is bad for them, causes inflammation, and that that also probably hurts your brain? You really can't win, honestly, life is about hitting that sweet spot in-between trying and giving up.

[aidepast]

If this were true, then it would help, but I doubt it.

The ideal is to give up on timewasting/unimportant activities(Quadrants 3&4 on Eisenhower Matrix) and try/begin important activities(Q1&2).

It is incredibly challenging, to accept uncertainty & to do what you are SURE is important & will result in a positive outcome.

If I run for 30 minutes every day then I KNOW that it is beneficial to my health. I am certain. My OCD will ruin it by suggesting that I could breathe polluted air, et cetera. By that suggestion alone, I will not run.

It's a strange dysfunction of your brains executive/decision ability. I value what I am not certain of MORE than what I am certain of.

It is my goal to reverse that logic & when your brain is working against you, it feels as if you're swimming against a current.

[whatshisface]

It's not that strange, the fact that fear (bias towards inaction) and hope (bias towards action) seem slanted towards fear was commented on by Machiavelli. He explained that the most people, when confronted with uncertainty, will choose to do nothing. TBH, I don't think that most people go out for runs because they've weighed the air pollution against the health benefits of exercise, I think they do it because they feel like running and it doesn't reach the point of an executive-function thinking-about-the-pros-and-cons decision.

The inflammation thing is probably true. Here's a random study. Don't do anything that keeps you in a constant state of injury!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3390758/

[aidepast]

I appreciate this response & the link, thank you!

[gnramires]

> "...decontaminate your hands because the pollutant will absorb through your skin, into your blood, and then into your brain, and probably lower your IQ!"

It probably makes sense to move to less polluted areas and such, but I doubt excessive hand washing and those smaller habits would do much. I think we'd see a clear effect of successful people being compulsive handwashers? I mean, there are impurities in other things we can't control as well (air, water, food), so minimizing impurity from the hand only makes a very small difference. Still, brilliant people live in polluted places like LA (Terence Tao comes to mind!), various places in China, etc. so it doesn't seem to determine your outcome -- in fact, research shows the impact is small (but it does exist). Success is determined by the big factors and knowledge/wisdom-based choices, not being a few percent faster or more effective at solving puzzles -- unless you're in a particularly competitive job (maths competitions, professional athlete, professional chess player, etc.). Most mathematicians choose to explore different directions, different fields instead of competing head to head to solve single problems[1]. Our bodies and brains are also remarkably robust to small loads of impurities... in fact, one of the techniques of AI is to get rid of a few neurons here and there (DIY not advised). Hope this alleviates some concerns :)

[1] I got this from Maryam Mirzakhani interviews: https://news.stanford.edu/2017/07/15/maryam-mirzakhani-stanf...