5 ms·

Mother nature does seem to roll the dice more when it comes to men. People then look at the outliers to the right and scream sexism while completely ignoring al

Mother nature does seem to roll the dice more when it comes to men. People then look at the outliers to the right and scream sexism while completely ignoring all the outliers to the left. There are many more profoundly stupid men than women. Men are incarcerated at a higher rate. Men kill themselves at 3x the rate of women. Yet this is quietly accepted.

SolaceQuantum 9y ago
This implies suicide and homicide are done primarily by stupid people by rhetoric?
- tetromino_ 9y ago
  Yes. Committing homicide is an irrational and maladaptive (i.e. stupid) thing to do in a peaceful 21st century society. Committing suicide is an irrational and maladaptive thing to do in almost all situations in history.
  - petre 9y ago
    Maybe one has a temporary problem (depression) that pushes them to commit suicide. That doesn't mean they're stupid. Robin Williams was definitely not stupid, yet he commited suicide. Terry Pratchett was also diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and had contemplated the idea of assisted suicide in a country where this is legal (Switzerland).
    - DonbunEf7 9y ago
      Robin Williams had Lewy body dementia [0], which almost certainly contributed to his choice. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia_with_Lewy_bodies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia_with_Lewy_bodies
  - lurkeraccount9 9y ago
    I'll take this as a teaching opportunity. There are vast amounts of research pointing to the link between mental illness and suicide. Suicidal ideation is a classic symptom of depression, and depression is a recognized scientifically by many factors including lowered serotonin and Dopamine. Not only that but there is evidence that suicide has genetic factors also documented and actively researched. I challenge anyone to provide proof that suicide is caused by stupidity. The parent comment is right in that suicide is irrational because sufferers of depression are not operating rationally, but from a sense of profound pain, and many sufferers do use maladaptive techniques such as drug an alcohol abuse to cope. Anyone who calls people who commit suicide "stupid" is wrong and incredibly ignorant/hostile to what many people with mental illness suffer from even though the research is extensive and an entire medical and scientific community are actively working together and in agreement. This kind of sentiment and hostility lead to people not seeking the help they absolutely need. If you are suffering from suicidal thoughts, please seek help immediately. Mental illness is treatable and the medication and non-medical treatments alike are incredibly effective.
- yorwba 9y ago
  Alternative reading: being stupid, getting incarcerated and committing suicide are all consequences of being an outlier at the negative end of the bell curve, where men are overrepresented due to higher variance of the respective trait.
nbanks 9y ago
Women have a much higher level of attempted suicide, possibly 3x as often as men. [1] I once heard a theory that women don't die from suicide as often because they tend to use less violent means of suicide. For example, if you swallow a bottle of pills you could survive or change your mind a few minutes later and get your stomach pumped, but this rarely applies to shooting yourself in the head. 1. https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/ https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/
- elgenie 9y ago
  "While males are 4 times more likely than females to die by suicide, females attempt suicide 3 times as often as males." So a suicide attempt by a man is 12x more likely to succeed than one by a woman.
  - MagnumOpus 9y ago
    That is sexist! Are you suggesting that women are less skilled than men ??!!?? (/s, obviously. Sorry I have to point it out.)
    - mirimir 9y ago
      I get /s :) And maybe they're more skilled. In that they get the message across without actually dying.
- mirimir 9y ago
  I suspect that many "suicide attempts" are more like emphatic communication ("See! I really care about this!") than intention to die. When I've felt suicidal, it's always helped to imagine how one does it reliably. Then I've thought about how irreversible that would be. And then I've realized that I don't really want to die.

SolaceQuantum 9y ago

This implies suicide and homicide are done primarily by stupid people by rhetoric?

tetromino_ 9y ago
Yes. Committing homicide is an irrational and maladaptive (i.e. stupid) thing to do in a peaceful 21st century society. Committing suicide is an irrational and maladaptive thing to do in almost all situations in history.
- petre 9y ago
  Maybe one has a temporary problem (depression) that pushes them to commit suicide. That doesn't mean they're stupid. Robin Williams was definitely not stupid, yet he commited suicide. Terry Pratchett was also diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and had contemplated the idea of assisted suicide in a country where this is legal (Switzerland).
  - DonbunEf7 9y ago
    Robin Williams had Lewy body dementia [0], which almost certainly contributed to his choice. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia_with_Lewy_bodies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia_with_Lewy_bodies
- lurkeraccount9 9y ago
  I'll take this as a teaching opportunity. There are vast amounts of research pointing to the link between mental illness and suicide. Suicidal ideation is a classic symptom of depression, and depression is a recognized scientifically by many factors including lowered serotonin and Dopamine. Not only that but there is evidence that suicide has genetic factors also documented and actively researched. I challenge anyone to provide proof that suicide is caused by stupidity. The parent comment is right in that suicide is irrational because sufferers of depression are not operating rationally, but from a sense of profound pain, and many sufferers do use maladaptive techniques such as drug an alcohol abuse to cope. Anyone who calls people who commit suicide "stupid" is wrong and incredibly ignorant/hostile to what many people with mental illness suffer from even though the research is extensive and an entire medical and scientific community are actively working together and in agreement. This kind of sentiment and hostility lead to people not seeking the help they absolutely need. If you are suffering from suicidal thoughts, please seek help immediately. Mental illness is treatable and the medication and non-medical treatments alike are incredibly effective.
yorwba 9y ago
Alternative reading: being stupid, getting incarcerated and committing suicide are all consequences of being an outlier at the negative end of the bell curve, where men are overrepresented due to higher variance of the respective trait.

nbanks 9y ago

Women have a much higher level of attempted suicide, possibly 3x as often as men. [1] I once heard a theory that women don't die from suicide as often because they tend to use less violent means of suicide. For example, if you swallow a bottle of pills you could survive or change your mind a few minutes later and get your stomach pumped, but this rarely applies to shooting yourself in the head. 1. https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/ https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/

elgenie 9y ago
"While males are 4 times more likely than females to die by suicide, females attempt suicide 3 times as often as males." So a suicide attempt by a man is 12x more likely to succeed than one by a woman.
- MagnumOpus 9y ago
  That is sexist! Are you suggesting that women are less skilled than men ??!!?? (/s, obviously. Sorry I have to point it out.)
  - mirimir 9y ago
    I get /s :) And maybe they're more skilled. In that they get the message across without actually dying.
mirimir 9y ago
I suspect that many "suicide attempts" are more like emphatic communication ("See! I really care about this!") than intention to die. When I've felt suicidal, it's always helped to imagine how one does it reliably. Then I've thought about how irreversible that would be. And then I've realized that I don't really want to die.