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The authors admitted behavior reads like classic OCD. He shakes someones hand and he can't think of anything else but washing his hand, and he'll excuse himself

The authors admitted behavior reads like classic OCD. He shakes someones hand and he can't think of anything else but washing his hand, and he'll excuse himself from meetings often enough that it's drawing colleagues attention. He's quite possibly only a few steps away from ruining his own life with obsession. What happens when this obsession starts interfering to the point it compromises his output and quality? Well that's usually when people start getting fired. The argument against shaking hands is absurdly stupid. The relatively few bacterial and even fewer viral infections that spread solely through contact, usually aren't going to put you out of work as to spread they cannot stop their host from interacting with other people. Then there's the whole argument about fungal infections being spread through contact, which I personally find hilarious as if you've ever touched the dirt growing up or pet a dog that's dug in the dirt then you're already carrying a huge swathe of fungals on your body. What happens, like in most common infections, is that something (usually the person being too clean can trigger it) causes an imbalance and suddenly you get a breakout. The infections that affect us today, aren't spread how they were in the 2nd BC. Most major infections are airborne and can easily be caught whilst in a confined space (IE elevator). This is why winter is the major flu season, not because of temperatures and people getting 'cold' (incidentally, a colder body temperature would actually inhibit viral and bacterial growth) but because no one goes outside.

timr 18y ago
Arrington's argument is not "absurdly stupid", and even if he sounds a bit obsessive on this issue, he has the advantage of being right. Meanwhile, you're Not Even Wrong -- there are many types of bacteria and viruses that are spread by skin contact. Any virologist or microbiologist will tell you that skin contact is a great way to spread viruses and bacteria. In fact, it's pretty widely assumed that aerosol transmission is mediated via skin contact as well: when you sneeze or cough, the droplets fall to surfaces quickly. Someone else then touches those surfaces, touches their mouth, nose or eyes, and voila -- cold transmission. The same thing happens much more directly via handshakes. There's a reason that public health people insist that you need to wash your hands after going to the bathroom. Do you sincerely believe that they'd be so worried about it, if there were "relatively few" infections that could be spread by skin contact? Finally, it really bugs me that your comment is +11, when you spend most of your time insulting Arrington for making a (relatively well-informed) argument, and only a very small amount of time making your own (unproven and incorrect) assertions. If you're going to insult someone for making an argument, at least come to the table armed with something more than the opposite opinion.
- electromagnetic 18y ago
  Actually, there's all of about 4 diseases you can catch solely from contact (IE handshakes). #1 is Athletes foot (occasionally some other fungal infections can spread similarly too) where an infected person can spread it to a susceptible person, however this is easily solved by not sharing towels and actually cleaning your bath/shower. #2 is HPV, aka warts, which usually most people would avoid shaking hands with someone covered in warts. The other way is similar to #1, so again good bathroom hygiene wins out. #3 is impetigo, commonly found in 2-6 year olds whom I sincerely doubt are in business meetings. The only other common way is close-contact sports (rugby/wrestling). #4 is syphilis, which in very rare cases can spread by direct touch with the chancer (ulceration of the skin). Besides those four, no infection worth worrying about is contagious. The next major worry for handshakes would be fecal-oral transmission. However, the reason public health officials espouse good bathroom hygiene isn't for hand shakes, it's for the fact that if this bacteria it has a chance to develop a large enough culture size to beat our immune system. The amount of bacteria actually carried on someones hand is so few and so exposed it cannot survive our stomach acid. I've taken several courses on all this and I'm certified for food safety, first aid (for all ages) and a few other courses I needed to work with people with compromised or weak immune systems (infants, elderly and immuno-compromised). Arrington has no fucking clue what he's talking about, he's an office worker spouting BS about personal hygiene. Unless you work in a hospital, you likely wouldn't make a single person sick if you only washed your hands when you showered. It's actually been shown repeatedly, that increased exposure to infectious bacteria increases your resilience(this is the whole purpose of the immune system) and can prevent you from getting worse infections. This is why health officials have been stock piling regular flu vaccinations in case of a H5N1 outbreak, because immunization against one type of flu strain can help against other flu strains. I know a lot about all this stuff. So please, don't call Arrington well-informed, because he's clueless. He's a programmer, he runs the best tech-news site on the web and should keep his opinions there where he is exceptionally clued in. This article lost Arrington a lot of respect from me because of how sheerly ignorant he is and how clearly he has a serious condition.
TomOfTTB 18y ago
I generally agree with you (though "stupid" is a bit harsh)but I have to say this is interesting coming from Michael Arrington. When you watch Movies or TV you find most people suffering from OCD are depicted as...well...insane. But the truth is the same OCD that can ruin their lives is also what makes them a success. Look at Howard Hughes for instance. Like it or Hate it TechCrunch is the most popular tech blog in existence and there's no doubt a lot of that is due to Arrington's obsessive nature. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people shouldn't get treatment for OCD. I just think it's important for everyone to realize that, as people, our virtues and our vices are often intertwined. And more importantly every virtue can become a vice if taken to the point of obsession.

timr 18y ago

Arrington's argument is not "absurdly stupid", and even if he sounds a bit obsessive on this issue, he has the advantage of being right. Meanwhile, you're Not Even Wrong -- there are many types of bacteria and viruses that are spread by skin contact. Any virologist or microbiologist will tell you that skin contact is a great way to spread viruses and bacteria. In fact, it's pretty widely assumed that aerosol transmission is mediated via skin contact as well: when you sneeze or cough, the droplets fall to surfaces quickly. Someone else then touches those surfaces, touches their mouth, nose or eyes, and voila -- cold transmission. The same thing happens much more directly via handshakes. There's a reason that public health people insist that you need to wash your hands after going to the bathroom. Do you sincerely believe that they'd be so worried about it, if there were "relatively few" infections that could be spread by skin contact? Finally, it really bugs me that your comment is +11, when you spend most of your time insulting Arrington for making a (relatively well-informed) argument, and only a very small amount of time making your own (unproven and incorrect) assertions. If you're going to insult someone for making an argument, at least come to the table armed with something more than the opposite opinion.

electromagnetic 18y ago
Actually, there's all of about 4 diseases you can catch solely from contact (IE handshakes). #1 is Athletes foot (occasionally some other fungal infections can spread similarly too) where an infected person can spread it to a susceptible person, however this is easily solved by not sharing towels and actually cleaning your bath/shower. #2 is HPV, aka warts, which usually most people would avoid shaking hands with someone covered in warts. The other way is similar to #1, so again good bathroom hygiene wins out. #3 is impetigo, commonly found in 2-6 year olds whom I sincerely doubt are in business meetings. The only other common way is close-contact sports (rugby/wrestling). #4 is syphilis, which in very rare cases can spread by direct touch with the chancer (ulceration of the skin). Besides those four, no infection worth worrying about is contagious. The next major worry for handshakes would be fecal-oral transmission. However, the reason public health officials espouse good bathroom hygiene isn't for hand shakes, it's for the fact that if this bacteria it has a chance to develop a large enough culture size to beat our immune system. The amount of bacteria actually carried on someones hand is so few and so exposed it cannot survive our stomach acid. I've taken several courses on all this and I'm certified for food safety, first aid (for all ages) and a few other courses I needed to work with people with compromised or weak immune systems (infants, elderly and immuno-compromised). Arrington has no fucking clue what he's talking about, he's an office worker spouting BS about personal hygiene. Unless you work in a hospital, you likely wouldn't make a single person sick if you only washed your hands when you showered. It's actually been shown repeatedly, that increased exposure to infectious bacteria increases your resilience(this is the whole purpose of the immune system) and can prevent you from getting worse infections. This is why health officials have been stock piling regular flu vaccinations in case of a H5N1 outbreak, because immunization against one type of flu strain can help against other flu strains. I know a lot about all this stuff. So please, don't call Arrington well-informed, because he's clueless. He's a programmer, he runs the best tech-news site on the web and should keep his opinions there where he is exceptionally clued in. This article lost Arrington a lot of respect from me because of how sheerly ignorant he is and how clearly he has a serious condition.

TomOfTTB 18y ago

I generally agree with you (though "stupid" is a bit harsh)but I have to say this is interesting coming from Michael Arrington. When you watch Movies or TV you find most people suffering from OCD are depicted as...well...insane. But the truth is the same OCD that can ruin their lives is also what makes them a success. Look at Howard Hughes for instance. Like it or Hate it TechCrunch is the most popular tech blog in existence and there's no doubt a lot of that is due to Arrington's obsessive nature. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people shouldn't get treatment for OCD. I just think it's important for everyone to realize that, as people, our virtues and our vices are often intertwined. And more importantly every virtue can become a vice if taken to the point of obsession.