Comments on: The End of the World http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-end-of-the-world/ Your Daily Fix of Neuroscience, Skepticism, and Critical Thinking Sun, 19 May 2013 22:50:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: locutusbrg http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-end-of-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-47501 locutusbrg Mon, 24 Dec 2012 01:14:28 +0000 http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=5133#comment-47501 @ccbowers They are WHO figures not mine. Murder does not included state sanctioned murder IE war. In the developed world Cardiovascular disease is #1. Including the third world diarrheal disease, lower respiratory tract infections and HIV kill more than Cardiac. Those figures do not include TB. Cardiac by category kills the most as you said. My data was from different years as examples of real things to worry about. from WHO website. In high-income countries more than two thirds of all people live beyond the age of 70 and predominantly die of chronic diseases: cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive lung disease, cancers, diabetes or dementia. Lung infection remains the only leading infectious cause of death. In middle-income countries, nearly half of all people live to the age of 70 and chronic diseases are the major killers, just as they are in high-income countries. Unlike in high-income countries, however, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and road traffic accidents also are leading causes of death. In low-income countries less than one in five of all people reach the age of 70, and more than a third of all deaths are among children under 15. People predominantly die of infectious diseases: lung infections, diarrheal diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Complications of pregnancy and childbirth together continue to be leading causes of death, claiming the lives of both infants and mothers. Q: How many young children die each year? More than 8 million deaths in 2008 were among children under five years of age, and 99% of them were in low- and middle-income countries. @ccbowers
They are WHO figures not mine. Murder does not included state sanctioned murder IE war. In the developed world Cardiovascular disease is #1. Including the third world diarrheal disease, lower respiratory tract infections and HIV kill more than Cardiac. Those figures do not include TB.
Cardiac by category kills the most as you said. My data was from different years as examples of real things to worry about.

from WHO website.
In high-income countries more than two thirds of all people live beyond the age of 70 and predominantly die of chronic diseases: cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive lung disease, cancers, diabetes or dementia. Lung infection remains the only leading infectious cause of death.

In middle-income countries, nearly half of all people live to the age of 70 and chronic diseases are the major killers, just as they are in high-income countries. Unlike in high-income countries, however, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and road traffic accidents also are leading causes of death.

In low-income countries less than one in five of all people reach the age of 70, and more than a third of all deaths are among children under 15. People predominantly die of infectious diseases: lung infections, diarrheal diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Complications of pregnancy and childbirth together continue to be leading causes of death, claiming the lives of both infants and mothers.

Q: How many young children die each year?
More than 8 million deaths in 2008 were among children under five years of age, and 99% of them were in low- and middle-income countries.

]]> By: nybgrus http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-end-of-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-47496 nybgrus Sun, 23 Dec 2012 15:28:50 +0000 http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=5133#comment-47496 Depends on how you ask the question. "Worldwide" becomes masked by middle and high income countries having a disproportionate population and death by CV disease. But in low income countries it is definitely infection that is the leading cause of death, with respiratory being #1 and diarrheal #2: http://www.whadvocacy.com/articles/global-mortality-who-identifies-leading-causes-death Cool little graphic from the WHO using 2008 data. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/index.html And a nice table of it all. Depends on how you ask the question. “Worldwide” becomes masked by middle and high income countries having a disproportionate population and death by CV disease. But in low income countries it is definitely infection that is the leading cause of death, with respiratory being #1 and diarrheal #2:

http://www.whadvocacy.com/articles/global-mortality-who-identifies-leading-causes-death

Cool little graphic from the WHO using 2008 data.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/index.html

And a nice table of it all.

]]> By: Auracol http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-end-of-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-47495 Auracol Sun, 23 Dec 2012 13:01:51 +0000 http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=5133#comment-47495 WE BE DOOMED! Did the End of the World, as we know it Occur on the twenty-first? Did the countdown to global destruction Have the whole world expecting the worst? Were the Mayans correct with their timeline? Or was their prophecy purely a hunch? I’m really in need of an answer BEFORE my big Christmas lunch! The Apocalypse’s made a HUGE difference To this season’s festive good cheer As I ended up wishing my loved ones A Happy POSTHUMOUS New Year! Could this Mayan post-Armageddon? Cause my Yuletide cravings to stop? Or much like my diet resolution, Was their Calendar destined to flop? But WAIT! the sky’s getting darker! And the salon’s begun to vibrate But I thought that Doomsday was Friday Did astronomers miscalculate? IF the End of Time is upon us I’ll stop planning my Post-Christmas fast And spend my last breath cursing Mayans And lamenting this chocolate’s my last! vicky schroer - Beirut 2012 WE BE DOOMED!

Did the End of the World, as we know it
Occur on the twenty-first?
Did the countdown to global destruction
Have the whole world expecting the worst?
Were the Mayans correct with their timeline?
Or was their prophecy purely a hunch?
I’m really in need of an answer
BEFORE my big Christmas lunch!

The Apocalypse’s made a HUGE difference
To this season’s festive good cheer
As I ended up wishing my loved ones
A Happy POSTHUMOUS New Year!
Could this Mayan post-Armageddon?
Cause my Yuletide cravings to stop?
Or much like my diet resolution,
Was their Calendar destined to flop?

But WAIT! the sky’s getting darker!
And the salon’s begun to vibrate
But I thought that Doomsday was Friday
Did astronomers miscalculate?
IF the End of Time is upon us
I’ll stop planning my Post-Christmas fast
And spend my last breath cursing Mayans
And lamenting this chocolate’s my last!

vicky schroer – Beirut 2012

]]> By: ccbowers http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-end-of-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-47494 ccbowers Sun, 23 Dec 2012 09:51:17 +0000 http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=5133#comment-47494 locutusbrg- Your figures don't quite add up. Taking your numbers at face value, your 13.3 million communicable disease figure is much higher than your murder/suicide ones. My understanding is that leading causes of death worldwide are cardiovascular diseases followed closely by infections. Of course it varies by country and by how specific you are with cause of death (CV disease versus MI or CVA). I agree with your overall point that these concerns are not largely about ignorance, but in general misplaced anxiety which is pretty common. In the US, there seems to be a preoccupation with relatively rare events like abductions or random killings, while the much more common events like CV diseases, infections, cancer or even motor vehicle accidents do not cause the same reactions. That's not to say that the latter don't cause concern, but that the concern is not proportional to the risk. locutusbrg-
Your figures don’t quite add up. Taking your numbers at face value, your 13.3 million communicable disease figure is much higher than your murder/suicide ones. My understanding is that leading causes of death worldwide are cardiovascular diseases followed closely by infections. Of course it varies by country and by how specific you are with cause of death (CV disease versus MI or CVA).
I agree with your overall point that these concerns are not largely about ignorance, but in general misplaced anxiety which is pretty common. In the US, there seems to be a preoccupation with relatively rare events like abductions or random killings, while the much more common events like CV diseases, infections, cancer or even motor vehicle accidents do not cause the same reactions. That’s not to say that the latter don’t cause concern, but that the concern is not proportional to the risk.

]]> By: CodexHammer http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-end-of-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-47489 CodexHammer Sat, 22 Dec 2012 23:23:04 +0000 http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=5133#comment-47489 @Locutusbrg If anything, the repeated post emphasises your point. I agree that the LHC doomsday scenario was more on people's radar. At that time, I think the public did not have more knowledge about the collider as they do today and so had more to fear through ignorance. At least now, many people could identify "Higgs Boson" with "LHC", and not "Black Hole". I hope the same will occur with the 2012 speculation, particularly Nibiru, so if a rogue planetary collision is ever predicted in the future (which I have no doubt that it will), people can have the knowledge that Planet X is a myth. @Locutusbrg
If anything, the repeated post emphasises your point.

I agree that the LHC doomsday scenario was more on people’s radar. At that time, I think the public did not have more knowledge about the collider as they do today and so had more to fear through ignorance. At least now, many people could identify “Higgs Boson” with “LHC”, and not “Black Hole”. I hope the same will occur with the 2012 speculation, particularly Nibiru, so if a rogue planetary collision is ever predicted in the future (which I have no doubt that it will), people can have the knowledge that Planet X is a myth.

]]> By: Autumn http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-end-of-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-47484 Autumn Sat, 22 Dec 2012 19:43:02 +0000 http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=5133#comment-47484 This is a bit off topic, but: This post has inspired me to create the planet Nibiru in the game Universe Sandbox just to see what would happen during various collisions, near collisions, etc. For those of you that don't know, Universe Sandbox is a very cool universe simulator in which you can do all sorts of fun things like creating rogue planets to terrorize Earth. It's also a really awesome way to get a sense of scale--you can send out light pulses in real time and see how long it takes the light to reach other celestial objects. I always knew the Earth was 8 light minutes from the sun, but you don't really understand how far away it is until you actually sit through all eight minutes watching it. Maybe I'll run through the other doomsday scenarios as well. Such as simulating what would happen if the LHC really did turn the Earth into a black hole. I think people took that more seriously than the whole Mayan thing, no? This is a bit off topic, but:

This post has inspired me to create the planet Nibiru in the game Universe Sandbox just to see what would happen during various collisions, near collisions, etc. For those of you that don’t know, Universe Sandbox is a very cool universe simulator in which you can do all sorts of fun things like creating rogue planets to terrorize Earth. It’s also a really awesome way to get a sense of scale–you can send out light pulses in real time and see how long it takes the light to reach other celestial objects. I always knew the Earth was 8 light minutes from the sun, but you don’t really understand how far away it is until you actually sit through all eight minutes watching it.

Maybe I’ll run through the other doomsday scenarios as well. Such as simulating what would happen if the LHC really did turn the Earth into a black hole. I think people took that more seriously than the whole Mayan thing, no?

]]> By: locutusbrg http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-end-of-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-47482 locutusbrg Sat, 22 Dec 2012 16:10:13 +0000 http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=5133#comment-47482 obviously I agree with # BillyJoe7, I need an edit option. Steve if you read this please delete the first duplicate comment Thanks. obviously I agree with # BillyJoe7, I need an edit option. Steve if you read this please delete the first duplicate comment
Thanks.

]]> By: locutusbrg http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-end-of-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-47481 locutusbrg Sat, 22 Dec 2012 16:08:54 +0000 http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=5133#comment-47481 In my opinion Doomsday and Doomsday concern are based in one of three major categories. Ignorance, Delusional thinking, or Anxiety disorder. I think the smallest percentage is ignorance. Most people know the facts but worry anyways. Far more likely you will die another way other than the end of the world. Globally Violence is the biggest killer and far outstrips even infectious disease. 2003 analysis by WHO shows 1424 murdered per day, and on average 1 person commits suicide every few minutes. Communicable diseases kill millions of people every year (13.3 million 1998, according to the World Health Organization). There will always be something to worry about, but we should be more focused on ourselves and our behavior than planets aligning or the last page of a calender. I know I am preaching to the choir here but it always boggles my mind how much time people spend worrying about the irrelevant and glossing over the hard problems the world faces. In my opinion Doomsday and Doomsday concern are based in one of three major categories. Ignorance, Delusional thinking, or Anxiety disorder. I think the smallest percentage is ignorance. Most people know the facts but worry anyways.
Far more likely you will die another way other than the end of the world.
Globally Violence is the biggest killer and far outstrips even infectious disease. 2003 analysis by WHO shows 1424 murdered per day, and on average 1 person commits suicide every few minutes.
Communicable diseases kill millions of people every year (13.3 million 1998, according to the World Health Organization).
There will always be something to worry about, but we should be more focused on ourselves and our behavior than planets aligning or the last page of a calender. I know I am preaching to the choir here but it always boggles my mind how much time people spend worrying about the irrelevant and glossing over the hard problems the world faces.

]]> By: locutusbrg http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-end-of-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-47480 locutusbrg Sat, 22 Dec 2012 16:07:51 +0000 http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=5133#comment-47480 In my opinion Doomsday and Doomsday concern are based in one of three major categories. Ignorance, Delusional thinking, or Anxiety disorder. I think the smallest percentage is ignorance. Most people know the facts but worry anyways. Far more likely you will die another way other than the end of the world. Globally Violence is the biggest killer and far outstrips even infectious disease. 2003 analysis by WHO shows 1424 murdered per day, and on average 1 person commits suicide every few minutes. Communicable diseases kill millions of people every year (13.3 million 1998, according to the World Health Organization). There will always be something to worry about, but we should be more focused on ourselves and our behavior than planets aligning or the last page of a calender. I know I am preaching to the choir here but it always boggles my my mind how much time people spend worrying about the irrelevant and glossing over the hard problems the world faces. In my opinion Doomsday and Doomsday concern are based in one of three major categories. Ignorance, Delusional thinking, or Anxiety disorder. I think the smallest percentage is ignorance. Most people know the facts but worry anyways.
Far more likely you will die another way other than the end of the world.
Globally Violence is the biggest killer and far outstrips even infectious disease. 2003 analysis by WHO shows 1424 murdered per day, and on average 1 person commits suicide every few minutes.
Communicable diseases kill millions of people every year (13.3 million 1998, according to the World Health Organization).
There will always be something to worry about, but we should be more focused on ourselves and our behavior than planets aligning or the last page of a calender. I know I am preaching to the choir here but it always boggles my my mind how much time people spend worrying about the irrelevant and glossing over the hard problems the world faces.

]]> By: BillyJoe7 http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-end-of-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-47475 BillyJoe7 Sat, 22 Dec 2012 05:32:23 +0000 http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=5133#comment-47475 We need an edit function! I meant: if a computer's programs uses future dates, problems can occur long before 2038 We need an edit function!
I meant: if a computer’s programs uses future dates, problems can occur long before 2038

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