4 ms·

I sometimes (jokingly) wonder whether extreme rock climbers like Alex Honnold have a species-jumping parasite that makes them want to reach the highest point ar

I sometimes (jokingly) wonder whether extreme rock climbers like Alex Honnold have a species-jumping parasite that makes them want to reach the highest point around. Something similar to this worm (1) that infects ants and makes them climb to the top of blades of grass, where they are more likely be eaten by an ungulate, thus allowing the parasite to move to the next stage of its reproductive cycle. 1) https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a21248947/brainworms-turn-ants-into-death-seeking-zombies/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a21248947/b...

abirch 4y ago
I'm surprised that Toxoplasma wasn't discussed. It's associated with risk taking in humans. It'd be interesting to see if VCs ever start screening for it. From this article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31980266/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31980266/ A more recent study shows that toxoplasma infection prevalence was a consistent, positive predictor of entrepreneurial activity.
- blooalien 4y ago
  > I'm surprised that Toxoplasma wasn't discussed. > It's associated with risk taking in humans. It'd be interesting to see if VCs ever start screening for it. Since first reading about that one years ago (and how it's believed that a ridiculously high percentage of humanity is probably already infected with it), I've often wondered if it doesn't maybe explain at least some of the insanity that we see happening in the news so frequently. Perhaps we should add a new requirement to being able to hold a "leadership" position in society that you be screened for and certified clear of brain altering parasites?
  - rmbyrro 4y ago
    I didn't see any study demonstrating that Toxoplasmosis alters the brain of humans. Do you know any to share? The "entrepreneurial tendency" is just a correlation. We need to be careful in drawing such conclusions, especially when we call for broad societal changes based upon them.
    - blooalien 4y ago
      > "I didn't see any study demonstrating that Toxoplasmosis alters the brain of humans. Do you know any to share?" I've never yet seen any such study yet myself, but I know there's been studies enough on how it affects the brains of mice, and given that it destroys the mouse's "risk aversion" such that the mouse will basically feed itself to a cat (to complete the life cycle of the the parasite), one might wonder if it has a similar effect on the risk aversion portion of the human brain as well… Seems to me that if no proper studies have yet been done on that, then perhaps such studies should be done, considering a significant portion of humanity likely already has this parasite happily eating away at their brains, including probably most of our "leaders".
- rmbyrro 4y ago
  We have to be careful in differentiating correlation and causation. The study seems to show a correlation only, not establish causation. It seems to me you might have read it as causation (?). Perhaps what is at play is that people who already have entrepreneurial tendencies end up exposing themselves to being infected more often than the average population.
  - abirch 4y ago
    I chose the word associated very deliberately. It's hard to show causation in humans for ethical reasons.
  - SamBam 4y ago
    Given that toxoplasmosis has been clearly shown to cause behavioral changes in rodents [1], and there's even an evolutionary explanation that shows why this behavioral changes is advantageous to the parasite, it's not unreasonable to think it's more likely that the behavioral differences seem in humans are also caused, not simply correlated with, the parasite. 1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20608470/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20608470/

abirch 4y ago

I'm surprised that Toxoplasma wasn't discussed. It's associated with risk taking in humans. It'd be interesting to see if VCs ever start screening for it. From this article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31980266/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31980266/ A more recent study shows that toxoplasma infection prevalence was a consistent, positive predictor of entrepreneurial activity.

blooalien 4y ago
> I'm surprised that Toxoplasma wasn't discussed. > It's associated with risk taking in humans. It'd be interesting to see if VCs ever start screening for it. Since first reading about that one years ago (and how it's believed that a ridiculously high percentage of humanity is probably already infected with it), I've often wondered if it doesn't maybe explain at least some of the insanity that we see happening in the news so frequently. Perhaps we should add a new requirement to being able to hold a "leadership" position in society that you be screened for and certified clear of brain altering parasites?
- rmbyrro 4y ago
  I didn't see any study demonstrating that Toxoplasmosis alters the brain of humans. Do you know any to share? The "entrepreneurial tendency" is just a correlation. We need to be careful in drawing such conclusions, especially when we call for broad societal changes based upon them.
  - blooalien 4y ago
    > "I didn't see any study demonstrating that Toxoplasmosis alters the brain of humans. Do you know any to share?" I've never yet seen any such study yet myself, but I know there's been studies enough on how it affects the brains of mice, and given that it destroys the mouse's "risk aversion" such that the mouse will basically feed itself to a cat (to complete the life cycle of the the parasite), one might wonder if it has a similar effect on the risk aversion portion of the human brain as well… Seems to me that if no proper studies have yet been done on that, then perhaps such studies should be done, considering a significant portion of humanity likely already has this parasite happily eating away at their brains, including probably most of our "leaders".
rmbyrro 4y ago
We have to be careful in differentiating correlation and causation. The study seems to show a correlation only, not establish causation. It seems to me you might have read it as causation (?). Perhaps what is at play is that people who already have entrepreneurial tendencies end up exposing themselves to being infected more often than the average population.
- abirch 4y ago
  I chose the word associated very deliberately. It's hard to show causation in humans for ethical reasons.
- SamBam 4y ago
  Given that toxoplasmosis has been clearly shown to cause behavioral changes in rodents [1], and there's even an evolutionary explanation that shows why this behavioral changes is advantageous to the parasite, it's not unreasonable to think it's more likely that the behavioral differences seem in humans are also caused, not simply correlated with, the parasite. 1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20608470/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20608470/