Folks:
Speaking as a guy with doctoral level credentials in one of the pseudo-sciences (economics,
God help me), perhaps I can bring to an end the postings regarding correlation between lead
levels and aggressive behavior. (My in box is overflowing with posting rightly belittling the
scientific validity of that study.)
A little background here. Thirty years ago, having completed all the requirements for my
doctorate except some polish on a thesis, I realized that the statistical "truths" were really
value judgments dressed up with numbers. The quantity of variables in that should be included
in a social science study is normally endless and the likelihood of recognizing the key
factors approaches zero. In other words, you can take almost and statistical study with a
grain of salt. So I became the world's oldest and most highly accredited dropout.
So, instead of gnashing our digital teeth over that silly "study" and clogging our e-mail in
boxes, let's just recognize the thing for what it is -- yet another farcical social science
study -- and move on to matters of real consequence.
Thank you for your time.
Best wishes,
Jim Smith
Managing Director
Cambridge Management Sciences, Inc.
4285 45th St. S.
St. Petersburg, FL 33711-4431
Tel: (727)866-6502 ext. 21
Fax: (727)867-7890
eMail: [log in to unmask]
"Byram, Jody L" wrote:
> One could, by the same logic, argue that the way to reduce the airborne lead
> level is to reduce the murder rate.
>
> Jody
>
> > ----------
> > From: Mike Fenner[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> > Reply To: Mike Fenner
> > Sent: Friday, July 06, 2001 2:58 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: [LF] Re[LF] Lead causes murders
> >
> > Its a curious thing though, that fast lead of the type as mentioned
> > below does not kill you by poisoning, only slow lead. I see another
> > thesis here: The toxicity of lead in air is inversely proportional to
> > its velocity: discuss.
> >
> > Watch out for low flying lead and have a good weekend
> >
> > Mike
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Brian Ellis" <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 9:00 AM
> > Subject: Re: [LF] Lead Kills?
> >
> >
> > Andrew
> >
> > Damn you, you took the words out of my mouth ! :-)
> >
> > However, I would also suggest that the populous counties with the
> > highest lead levels have those levels because of the lead flying out
> > from the muzzles of firearms, potentially more lethal than more
> > permanently airborne lead :-)
> >
> > Brian
> >
> > > Andrew Hoggan wrote:
> > >
> > > KO, I'm claiming this one, there's PhD in Social Sciences here.
> > Let's
> > > See, more airborne lead, more automobiles, high population density,
> > > more murders; low airborne lead, less automobiles, lower population
> > > density, less murders. It's mine I thought of it first.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Leadfree [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Michael
> > > Lester
> > > Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2001 10:23
> > > To: [log in to unmask]
> > > Subject: [LF] Lead Kills?
> > >
> > > More Lead, More Murders
> > > Study Finds Correlation Between Killings and Lead in the Air
> > >
> > > F O R T C O L L I N S, Colo., May 16 EUR" A new study that
> > > suggests a
> > > correlation between airborne lead levels and the murder
> > > rate.
> > >
> > > The research showed that in counties across the United
> > > States with the
> > > highest airborne lead levels, the murder rate was
> > > correspondingly high. It
> > > said that the murder rate was four time higher in the
> > > counties with the
> > > highest lead levels than in counties with the lowest.Among
> > > the counties where
> > > the trend was most evident: Baltimore, Dallas, San Francisco
> > > and Cheboygan in
> > > Michigan.The study was co-authored by Colorado State
> > > University assistant
> > > professor Paul Stretesky, a sociologist, and Michael Lynch,
> > > a criminology
> > > professor at the University of South Florida, Tampa. It was
> > > published Tuesday
> > > in the online edition of the Journal of the American Medical
> > > Association. No
> > > Direct Causal RelationshipThe research does not show a
> > > direct causal
> > > relationship between airborne lead levels and higher
> > > homicide rates, but
> > > could mean that people exposed to higher lead levels are
> > > predisposed toward
> > > violent behavior, the authors said.EURoeIf the association
> > > uncovered in this
> > > analysis is truly reflective of a causal relationship, these
> > > findings may
> > > have important policy implications that link the need for
> > > continued efforts
> > > toward lead abatement,EUR the article reads.The research
> > > studied 1990 data from
> > > all 3,111 U.S. counties except Alaska and Hawaii, comparing
> > > the murder rate
> > > with the Environmental Protection AgencyEUR(tm)s estimates of
> > > air concentrations of
> > > lead and blood levels o
> >
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> >
>
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To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in
the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Leadfree
To temporarily stop delivery of Leadree for vacation breaks send: SET Leadfree NOMAIL
Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives
Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional
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