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0 pointslamp_book8mo ago0 comments

I wonder if any Romans evidence had any evidence of population-level delirium from lead consumption...

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Lower intelligence would likely surface as hedonistic behavior which is probably hard to distinguish from decadence. Decadence and hedonism were constantly being complained about long before the eventual fall.

paleotrope8mo ago

Hard to square the fall with lead poisoning when the leadership after the 3rd century hardly even bothered to go to Rome at all.

It's too easy to point at the Claudians as the beginning of the fall. In a way, the "Real" Roman empire began to fail once Augustus took over.

hinkley8mo ago

Violence in the US declined as children born around and after leaded gas was banned reached the average age of first offense. It’s quite a line.

cjbgkagh8mo ago

You're going to have to explain your point to me, or perhaps you misunderstood my own.

My point is that while it may have been unclear to the Romans as to the cause of changes in behavior they did notice a change and did complain about it a lot. I accept the premise that lead poisoning leads to lower intelligence.

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JumpCrisscross8mo ago

> Violence in the US declined as children born around and after leaded gas was banned reached the average age of first offense

My pet hypothesis for the generation born after in the mid postwar era having been a general scourge on America is that we had a population boom amidst lead.

evertedsphere8mo ago

> Lower intelligence would likely surface as hedonistic behavior why do you think so

throawaywpg8mo ago

poor decision making

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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cjbgkagh8mo ago

paleotrope8mo ago

Hard to square the fall with lead poisoning when the leadership after the 3rd century hardly even bothered to go to Rome at all.

It's too easy to point at the Claudians as the beginning of the fall. In a way, the "Real" Roman empire began to fail once Augustus took over.

hinkley8mo ago

Violence in the US declined as children born around and after leaded gas was banned reached the average age of first offense. It’s quite a line.

cjbgkagh8mo ago

You're going to have to explain your point to me, or perhaps you misunderstood my own.

1 more reply

JumpCrisscross8mo ago

> Violence in the US declined as children born around and after leaded gas was banned reached the average age of first offense

My pet hypothesis for the generation born after in the mid postwar era having been a general scourge on America is that we had a population boom amidst lead.

evertedsphere8mo ago

> Lower intelligence would likely surface as hedonistic behavior why do you think so

throawaywpg8mo ago

poor decision making

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse