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Why toxoplasomosis is getting trendy suddenly? I've just read another article on this that was trying to scare people, obviously without any merit [0]. Is some

Why toxoplasomosis is getting trendy suddenly? I've just read another article on this that was trying to scare people, obviously without any merit [0]. Is some company creating vaccine for this and needs some marketing? The first comment says "It may be a risk factor for schizophrenia, OCD, bipolar disorder and other mental health issues. The evidence seems inconclusive at this time. " Yes, it can cause all those horrible things (I think that only autism is missing on the list), only there is no proof for that, but, nowadays, who cares if the story fits twitter size post and has a chance to get "viral". [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27615857 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27615857

politicorific 5y ago
Yes, I’ve noticed several articles in the past week on the subject. The resurgence of this topic has me looking for a presentation I watched perhaps 5-10 years ago where the presenter suggested humorously that the Victorians popularized and normalized cat pet ownership at the level we now know (having cats indoors) because they were afflicted with toxoplasmosis. The presenter suggested that icanhazcheeseburger and pictures of cats on the internet are a symptom of mass infection of people with toxoplasmosis and that people who are infected are more likely to give comfort to crying cats which have learned, or had their behavior modified by the parasite, to mimic the cries of human babies. If anyone can find me this presentation I’d be grateful. I fear a pro-cat conspiracy drove this video off the internet.
pvaldes 5y ago
> Is some company creating 'product' for this and needs some marketing? That would be my first candidate, yep. A problem with this is the disconnection between effect and cause. The startup could be lying to themselves and entering in a greyhound race trying to develop a solution for a problem that was not the problem that they though it was. There is a risk that the final product will have a really short life (and makers hate to be told that). "Ozone machines against Covid" came to my mind for example. Blind faith towards bad (or biased) science is a problem. Is like discovering that people drunk with severe headache drive reckless and are more prone to have accidents at work and "all had drive licenses", and concluding that "people with drive licenses are worse drivers than people without; we have another publication". Sorry, but this is not "creature is mind-controlling me", is "my brain is on fire" (and my experiment design could be better). In the experiment the hyaena cubs supposedly move closer to lions. Maybe the cubs are just uncomfortable and trying to find a relief instead to defying lions?. Are the same ill cubs moving more far away from lions also?. I would want to see the Standard deviation for distances, and a control group in the articles related with predator urine to discard just an increase in wandering searching for water. Are this cubs moving toward water sources where lions gather? Are this cubs looking for a more shadowed spot where lions rest? This kind of studies precooked to produce the desired answer while ignoring the, more probable, but non publishable and less sexy explanations border pseudosience. Extreme claims require extraordinary solid proofs, not tabloid style management.

politicorific 5y ago

Yes, I’ve noticed several articles in the past week on the subject. The resurgence of this topic has me looking for a presentation I watched perhaps 5-10 years ago where the presenter suggested humorously that the Victorians popularized and normalized cat pet ownership at the level we now know (having cats indoors) because they were afflicted with toxoplasmosis. The presenter suggested that icanhazcheeseburger and pictures of cats on the internet are a symptom of mass infection of people with toxoplasmosis and that people who are infected are more likely to give comfort to crying cats which have learned, or had their behavior modified by the parasite, to mimic the cries of human babies. If anyone can find me this presentation I’d be grateful. I fear a pro-cat conspiracy drove this video off the internet.

pvaldes 5y ago

> Is some company creating 'product' for this and needs some marketing? That would be my first candidate, yep. A problem with this is the disconnection between effect and cause. The startup could be lying to themselves and entering in a greyhound race trying to develop a solution for a problem that was not the problem that they though it was. There is a risk that the final product will have a really short life (and makers hate to be told that). "Ozone machines against Covid" came to my mind for example. Blind faith towards bad (or biased) science is a problem. Is like discovering that people drunk with severe headache drive reckless and are more prone to have accidents at work and "all had drive licenses", and concluding that "people with drive licenses are worse drivers than people without; we have another publication". Sorry, but this is not "creature is mind-controlling me", is "my brain is on fire" (and my experiment design could be better). In the experiment the hyaena cubs supposedly move closer to lions. Maybe the cubs are just uncomfortable and trying to find a relief instead to defying lions?. Are the same ill cubs moving more far away from lions also?. I would want to see the Standard deviation for distances, and a control group in the articles related with predator urine to discard just an increase in wandering searching for water. Are this cubs moving toward water sources where lions gather? Are this cubs looking for a more shadowed spot where lions rest? This kind of studies precooked to produce the desired answer while ignoring the, more probable, but non publishable and less sexy explanations border pseudosience. Extreme claims require extraordinary solid proofs, not tabloid style management.