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Does this imply that thinking too hard, cramming, and other rapid learning strategies may actually increase brain cancer risk? Somewhat horrifying to think abo

Does this imply that thinking too hard, cramming, and other rapid learning strategies may actually increase brain cancer risk? Somewhat horrifying to think about... Oops.

flashfaffe2 4y ago
Actually I would think the other way around. Though, this doesn't seem to be a clear correlation.
- netizen-936824 4y ago
  How would the mechanism work in your example?
user_7832 4y ago
While that doesn't sound very likely, I'm not a biologist or doctor (I don't think there's any current evidence to support such a theory.)
dekhn 4y ago
One can speculate and find many ways that thinking too hard would increase cancer rates, although none of these speculations are strong enough to be actionable. For example, thinking harder leads to greater metabolic activity in the brain, and greater metabolic activity can increase the risk of cancer. Therefore, thinking harder increases the risk of cancer. Thinking hard can be associated with increased stress, and increased stress can cause the induction of endogenous viruses, which can themselves cause cancer or other serious problems. I could go on, but the reality is, even while all of these are realistic statements, they contribute far less to overall risk than obesity or driving.
- aeternum 4y ago
  There also seems to be evidence that not thinking hard enough also causes issues however. Just as high metabolic activity in muscles can increase risk of cancer, very low metabolic activity also causes a wide range of problems.
whatever1 4y ago
Anecdotally people I know who dont give an f live longer than the overachieving ones.
wozer 4y ago
> High levels of education linked to heightened brain tumor risk > Gliomas, in particular, more common among university-educated, large observational study shows > Men with university level education, lasting at least three years, were 19% more likely to develop a glioma https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160620221757.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160620221757.h... I believe, for a rare cancer, a 19% increased risk is not a very big deal. It's still low risk. (And of course, only the correlation is known.)
vermooten 4y ago
Daily Mail headline: "Thinking gives you cancer!"

Does this imply that thinking too hard, cramming, and other rapid learning strategies may actually increase brain cancer risk? Somewhat horrifying to think about... Oops.

flashfaffe2 4y ago

Actually I would think the other way around. Though, this doesn't seem to be a clear correlation.

netizen-936824 4y ago
How would the mechanism work in your example?

user_7832 4y ago

While that doesn't sound very likely, I'm not a biologist or doctor (I don't think there's any current evidence to support such a theory.)

dekhn 4y ago

One can speculate and find many ways that thinking too hard would increase cancer rates, although none of these speculations are strong enough to be actionable. For example, thinking harder leads to greater metabolic activity in the brain, and greater metabolic activity can increase the risk of cancer. Therefore, thinking harder increases the risk of cancer. Thinking hard can be associated with increased stress, and increased stress can cause the induction of endogenous viruses, which can themselves cause cancer or other serious problems. I could go on, but the reality is, even while all of these are realistic statements, they contribute far less to overall risk than obesity or driving.

aeternum 4y ago
There also seems to be evidence that not thinking hard enough also causes issues however. Just as high metabolic activity in muscles can increase risk of cancer, very low metabolic activity also causes a wide range of problems.

whatever1 4y ago

Anecdotally people I know who dont give an f live longer than the overachieving ones.

wozer 4y ago

> High levels of education linked to heightened brain tumor risk > Gliomas, in particular, more common among university-educated, large observational study shows > Men with university level education, lasting at least three years, were 19% more likely to develop a glioma https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160620221757.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160620221757.h... I believe, for a rare cancer, a 19% increased risk is not a very big deal. It's still low risk. (And of course, only the correlation is known.)

vermooten 4y ago

Daily Mail headline: "Thinking gives you cancer!"