Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
[...] There is a clear correlation between close proximity to a body of water and better psychological and overall health outcomes, said Michael Depledge, chair of Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter Medical School.
Depledge has been studying the effects of so-called "blue environments" for a decade, helping to shepherd a number of research projects that have caught the attention of the U.K. government and the European Union (EU).
Spending time near the water, "promotes physical activity and general fitness," reducing the incidence of diabetes and other diseases associated with obesity.
But it also slows down our heart rate and reduces stress hormones, boosting our mental health, which Depledge calls "the second great epidemic we're facing."
I told you fishing was good for the soul but you were all poo-poo, he's a redneck, poo-poo.
Source: Being Near a Body of Water Makes Us Calmer and Healthier, Science Shows
(Score: 1) by exaeta on Saturday July 28 2018, @12:18AM (7 children)
Being near a body of water means the temperatures vary less (water has a high specific heat capacity, and a sufficiently large body of water will impact the surrounding temperatures). Temperature changes stress out the human body, so it's natural that results in healthier people. Especially given how many of our species refuse to set the thermostat to healthy levels to save money on electric bills. Since humans once lived in caves, which have a relatively steady temperature around 68F-72F that's probably the ideal temperature range that we evolved for.
The Government is a Bird
(Score: 3, Informative) by hendrikboom on Saturday July 28 2018, @12:40AM (1 child)
There's also the aquatic ape theory, which says that we humans evolved from apes that spend a lot of time in coastal waters.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 29 2018, @02:45PM
There is also the Jesus was an alien theory, which makes about as much sense as the aquatic ape bollocks.
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Saturday July 28 2018, @01:40AM (3 children)
[Citation needed]
"Cavemen" are a stereotype but don't seem to have been common.
I mean yes, we have evidence that some early humans lived in caves, but it certainly doesn't seem to have been the predominant dwelling place for significant numbers of homonids or homonins. Certainly no evidence that this was common enough to create an evolutionary pressure; humans are poorly adapted to cave dwelling compared to animals that commonly live there.
(Score: 1) by exaeta on Saturday July 28 2018, @04:02AM (2 children)
I haven't personally conducted a survey on the amount of evidence supporting the "humans were cavemen" theory, but it should be noted that at temperatures below essentially 68F, chance of death increases substantially with each decrease in degree. And interestingly, 68F is roughly the cave temperature of most surface caves (as you go deeper underground the temperature actually rises, unsurprising given magma is probably quite hot).
Mind you, before the days of air conditioning, any man-made shelter would essentially be a cave anyway, so it doesn't much change the point.
The Government is a Bird
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday July 28 2018, @01:35PM
I think the point is caves are a lot less common than are downed trees and for that matter, open savannah.There just aren't enough caves to house a viable humanoid population. And if we'd evolved as cave dwellers, some apelike relative would so live to this day -- and none do.
I suspect the study is looking at the wrong thing: it's not proximity to water that's calming; it's proximity to open space that lacks all visible threats. The lizard part of the brain that's on the lookout for predators 'knows' that open, vacant space hides nothing, which naturally reduces stress. (At least if the water isn't full of alligators.) Hence I find open desert "calming" in the same way.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Saturday July 28 2018, @02:09PM
[Citation needed]
Absent other significant geological features (e.g., magma vents), cave temperatures usually tend toward the mean surface temperature in that region. Which means cave temps vary. In a hot region, they may indeed be near 70F. In a temperate region (e.g. large parts of Europe and Asia where we know primitive humans lived) they may be more like 55-60F. In a moderately cool region (e.g. northern U.S.) they may average 50F or lower.
Yes, but generally only once you get nearly a mile underground or more (again, absent other geological features that would vent from deeper underground). And temperature generally rises only quite slowly with descent, so a cave that's 50F on average is not going to become more hospitable quickly... And I don't think primitive hominids were wandering around deep underground without light sources.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Saturday July 28 2018, @09:04AM
people living in places with pools are calmer and healthier
QED :^)
Account abandoned.
(Score: 5, Funny) by hendrikboom on Saturday July 28 2018, @12:38AM
Obligatory xkcd [xkcd.com]
(Score: 5, Funny) by MostCynical on Saturday July 28 2018, @12:43AM (2 children)
It isn't the fishing that makes you a redneck, it's the use of grenades [wikipedia.org] that suggests "redneck" (or Russian [dailymail.co.uk])
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday July 28 2018, @01:38PM
Or if you use a more-direct approach, Canadian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x768VAsOQSw [youtube.com]
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Saturday July 28 2018, @09:01PM
And I'm guessing 'poo-poo' is the proper elite liberal substitute appelation for 'bullshit'? I approve.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Saturday July 28 2018, @01:19AM
You've never seen calmer, healthier people than this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXeLfMO9q4c [youtube.com]
We're gonna be able to vacation in Gaza, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and maybe Minnesota soon. Incredible times.
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Saturday July 28 2018, @02:12AM (8 children)
Just ask any real estate agent about it. Demand for properties with views of water is usually high and they command higher prices. (Assuming it's not like the Cuyahoga river used to be when it caught fire)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 28 2018, @03:19AM (6 children)
Why not the Cuyahoga river when it caught fire? Fashwave fans would love it! It's the fruits of capitalism, and they're all about fascism (national capitalism, as it were).
It would fit in alongside that section of the alt-right's retro EGA wallpapers and worship of VHS artifacts perfectly.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 28 2018, @03:41AM (1 child)
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/soviet-union-environmental-disaster [theodysseyonline.com]
http://fortune.com/2013/01/28/chinas-environment-an-economic-death-sentence/ [fortune.com]
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/photos/americas-10-worst-man-made-environmental-disasters/the [mnn.com]
The US seems very tame in comparison.
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/more-trees-than-there-were-100-years-ago-its-true [mnn.com]
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/24/us/epa-calls-us-cleaner-and-greener-than-30-years-ago.html [nytimes.com]
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Saturday July 28 2018, @05:57AM
"epa-calls-us-cleaner-and-greener-than-30-years-ago"
I can vouch for that. When I went through Gary Indiana as a kid in 1970 or so, the sky was orange.
When I lived just outside of it 10 years later, it was already massively improved.
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Saturday July 28 2018, @03:50AM
Not sure where nationalism, and capitalism come together. I see high degrees of Jingoism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingoism [wikipedia.org] but capitalism is often expressed extranationaly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism [wikipedia.org]
A capitalist doesn't generally care where the profit comes from as long as it keeps rolling in.
Fascism does often include a degree of autarky but places order and control over profit which is foreign to capitalism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism [wikipedia.org]
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Saturday July 28 2018, @06:02AM (2 children)
First time I've heard of fashwave. Learn something new everyday.
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Sunday July 29 2018, @02:32AM
Me too. And I'm not a big fan of techno, but its not that bad.
DDG came up with this as the top youtube result : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QSwDLH2ang [youtube.com]
You have to click ok to get past the 'this content is inappropriate or offensive' block. How fucked up is that. It's a purely instrumental track, and triggered little snowflakes flag it as offensive because of who posted it, not because of what it is.
200 million years is actually quite a long time.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 29 2018, @02:57AM
Apparently, there is not just fashwave (at least they're finally being honest about being fascists) but these same artists brought yet another genre into existence: [vice.com]Trumpwave. Dafuq.
I happen to like the synthwave sound and for a couple of months, dived deep into New Retro playlists on youtube. Never hit upon any fashwave titles then, but I did find a live streamer (of synthwave playlists) whose audience kept virtue signaling each others in chat with alt-right slogans. I was quite confused by that, guess I have my answer now.
Fuckers can fuck right off. Music is not political by itself, go back to howling Nazi slogans over terrible Oi punk tracks if you want to express yourselves in a way befitting your ideas.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by vux984 on Saturday July 28 2018, @05:05AM
Came here to say something like this. Are we sure being near bodies of water is good for our health? rather than being rich is good for our health? (and therefore being able to afford both views of bodies of water and health care)
:p
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 28 2018, @03:09AM
Easily solved by ending the wealth transfer from the working class.
(Score: 5, Funny) by rigrig on Saturday July 28 2018, @03:20AM (1 child)
So say I.
Strong anecdotal evidence indicates that the correlation between me drinking beer and me living forever is almost 100%.
Usually I tend to read TFA for stories like this and decide if it's worth my time[1] to point out the load of errors.
I really tried, but even halfway through I just couldn't continue reading because it felt like a worse waste of time than this[2] comment.
So I'd be rather ticked off if the rest of the article refuted these points, but here we go:
* correlation vs causation: duh: people like "nature", so the people who can afford to spend time near water are the same people that don't need to do unhealthy jobs
(that didn't support our requests for more funding very well, so we made up some interesting-sounding stuff)
* "health": instead of measuring anything (like lifespan?),
[1] I've trained myself to read the stuff I intend to post and ask myself "will this post[5] make the world a better place[3]?" before pressing submit.
[2] Which is saying a lot, because this is me getting home after 4am, dutifully fixing all the red squiggly lines my browser tells me are Wrong.
[3] "better" for me, trying to take into account my appreciation of +1 mods, the "warm glow" I get from improving other people's world[4] and the feeble hope that idiots will be banned from the internet.
[4] AKA "the" world
[5] Hah, no, but (blahblah sunken time costs fallacy, for the lulz[2]) let's post it anyway. Not posting this would severely impact my expected value of beer (which would be a shame, because "lots of" has already been scheduled for tomorrow, so that's going to happen no matter what.)
No one remembers the singer.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 28 2018, @09:12AM
Dude, either you have a severe beer withdrawal symptom or had too much beer.
Try vodka next time.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by wonkey_monkey on Saturday July 28 2018, @01:00PM (2 children)
That doesn't mean it's purely the proximity of water that's causing the calmness. There's the fact that you're probably on holiday, for a start.
They can afford to live near the sea. They're probably, on average, richer than their city cousins.
There you go.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 28 2018, @03:21PM (1 child)
Your cognitive dissonance is deafening.
Oh, wait, it's your reading comprehension. Maybe post after the first cup of coffee instead of during.
(Score: 4, Touché) by acid andy on Saturday July 28 2018, @04:33PM
Poor attempt at trolling. You just cut off the bit that supports what he said:
These sharper health disparities between coastal and inland communities for low-income individuals could be because the city dwelling ones are even poorer than the coastal ones, even though both fit into the "low-income" category for the study. At that level, the difference between having a little money and no money is going to have an enormous impact on health.
Also, a low-income doesn't necessarily imply poverty. I bet there are lots of wealthy, retired folk living near the coast with low incomes but loads of capital to spend.
"rancid randy has a dialogue with herself[...] Somebody help him!" -- Anonymous Coward.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 28 2018, @09:24PM
As a rule of thumb, living longer = more opportunities to commit sin = bad for the soul. And don't try arguing it's more time to atone. If you're fishing, you're not going to Church.
But have no fear, for I have the solution! I propose a kickstarter to have priests drive over every morning to sanctify the lakes and rivers. This way, eating the fish and drinking the water would be taking communion. We'll even have the boats painted with little crosses and sell worm buckets with all the prayers printed on the lid.
Join now. For only $99.95 your eternal soul could be redeemed!