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The new study's large sample size and robust statistical methods suggest diet and ecology deserve more attention Maybe someone in need of a PhD thesis topic ca

The new study's large sample size and robust statistical methods suggest diet and ecology deserve more attention Maybe someone in need of a PhD thesis topic can do me a favor and spend some time scientifically looking at why half of the human population lives within 200 km of the coast and what impact ocean minerals, including but not limited to salt, have on brain development at the species level. https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/uxrinu/half_of_the_world_population_lives_at_less_than/?utm_term=1870696506&utm_medium=post_embed&utm_source=embed&utm_name=&utm_content=header https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/uxrinu/half_of_the...

082349872349872 4y ago
Iodized salt was actually a big public health thing in my non-coastal country.
- DoreenMichele 4y ago
  Yeah, it's a thing in the US as well due to the Midwest being historically known as The Goiter Belt. I'm likely allergic to iodine, but have a genetic disorder that involves misprocessing NaCl -- "table salt" -- among other things (fats as well, which are also significant to brain development, what with the brain being the organ with the most cholesterol). And it happens to be a genetic disorder anecdotally associated with high IQs and indirectly associated with Nobel Prizes in that it is common in a population with a historically high percentage of of Nobel Prizes, outsized compared to the population in question. Anyway, I'm not good at doing "professional sciency speak" but I have reason to wonder about the role of salt (and related minerals) in brain development and IQ. Iodine is not, per se, one of the things making my radar in that regard. But thanks for replying
  - 082349872349872 4y ago
    Sorry, I know nothing about salt per se. I just knew that iodine deficiency is not good for brain development. My wild guess for human population distribution being heavily coastal is: people don't tend to live where there aren't jobs, and the XXI economy (as was the XX, etc.) is ocean-oriented. In order to test that guess, one might wish to look at the % of the population that doesn't live near a coast, and see how many of them live near a navigable waterway.
    - DoreenMichele 4y ago
      My recollection off the top of my head is that cities are strongly associated with navigable waterways. Which I don't see as a rebuttal for my hypothesis, just to be clear.

082349872349872 4y ago

Iodized salt was actually a big public health thing in my non-coastal country.

DoreenMichele 4y ago
Yeah, it's a thing in the US as well due to the Midwest being historically known as The Goiter Belt. I'm likely allergic to iodine, but have a genetic disorder that involves misprocessing NaCl -- "table salt" -- among other things (fats as well, which are also significant to brain development, what with the brain being the organ with the most cholesterol). And it happens to be a genetic disorder anecdotally associated with high IQs and indirectly associated with Nobel Prizes in that it is common in a population with a historically high percentage of of Nobel Prizes, outsized compared to the population in question. Anyway, I'm not good at doing "professional sciency speak" but I have reason to wonder about the role of salt (and related minerals) in brain development and IQ. Iodine is not, per se, one of the things making my radar in that regard. But thanks for replying
- 082349872349872 4y ago
  Sorry, I know nothing about salt per se. I just knew that iodine deficiency is not good for brain development. My wild guess for human population distribution being heavily coastal is: people don't tend to live where there aren't jobs, and the XXI economy (as was the XX, etc.) is ocean-oriented. In order to test that guess, one might wish to look at the % of the population that doesn't live near a coast, and see how many of them live near a navigable waterway.
  - DoreenMichele 4y ago
    My recollection off the top of my head is that cities are strongly associated with navigable waterways. Which I don't see as a rebuttal for my hypothesis, just to be clear.