[swalling]

> Mental models of UV exposure are not always intuitive.

100%. On this front, the study notes something important that helps explain the lower overall mortality, which is that "Most melanoma is a disease of intermittent burning sun exposure, particularly in childhood."

In other words, skin cancer doesn't increase exponentially with total lifetime UV exposure, unlike say, regular alcohol use or smoking. It's much riskier to get burned repeatedly in early childhood than it is to have regular moderate levels of sun exposure long term while avoiding being burned.