Science-Based Medicine

Dec 28 2012

780.6

Published by Mark Crislip under Basic Science,Evolution,History,Science and Medicine
Comments: 51

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51 Responses to “780.6”

# Aliaon 28 Dec 2012 at 7:58 am

A fun fact – “normal” temperature differs from country to country. For my mother, a retired nurse, “normal” is 36.6 (Poland), while in Russia it’s 36.5 (and there is even a children’s song about a kid who has problem, because his temperature is 36.5 and he has to go to school).
Also, in our folk tradition you don’t try to lower temperature during a cold, you “sweat it out” – drink linden tea or raspberry juice and then go to bed, cuddle up under down quilt and wait for the fever to go away. It does seem to be a sensible idea in the light of your article, dr Crislip.
# Janeton 28 Dec 2012 at 8:52 am

I quit treating fevers of less that 101-102 deg F long ago–on the advice of the (apparently) very sensible family practice doctor we had in Portland in the early 80’s–after years of being given antibiotics at the slightest sign of fever with the older two. At 102 deg, I would call the doctor, though, just to see if he (it was usually a he in those days and certainly not a “they”) wanted to see the child.

To think that we ATE our onions, when we could have had relief from a cold–oh no! Is there anything worse than a COLD? A day off from school! How awful. We didn’t allow TV if you stayed home from school–after all you were “sick” and couldn’t hold your head up you said, so no TV (we never, ever had it in bedrooms). This limited debilitating fevers I found–much better than onions.
# DugganSCon 28 Dec 2012 at 10:01 am

As I was telling my wife recently (in response to the prior fever article), the figure of 98.6 was largely hammered into me by Keith’s song, “98.6″ (http://www.keith986.com/986.htm) which I heard repeatedly as a child on the radio. Me, my temperature tends to hover around 96.8, presumably for purposes of symmetry. Good to know that that’s in the “normal” range.
# rokujoladyon 28 Dec 2012 at 10:12 am

Yes, but does insurance cover E978?
# Harriet Hallon 28 Dec 2012 at 11:36 am

In the CAM universe, temperatures within the normal range are interpreted as signs of hypo- or hyper-thyroidism or even adrenal dysfunction, and patients are unnecessarily treated for those false diagnoses. For example, see http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/temperature/
# daedalus2uon 28 Dec 2012 at 12:11 pm

My hypothesis of how one feels when one has a fever is that feeling nauseous, weak and crappy is a feature.

During an acute infection is the one time that you do want your immune system “boosted”, which your physiology is able to do just fine on its own. Fortunately, that immune system “boosting” is not under conscious control (or it would be easy to screw it up).

Essentially everything that physiology does requires ATP, and ATP used for one thing can’t be used for something else. Regulation of the immune system is (fortunately) not under conscious control, but physical activity is, and at times can be more important than immune system activation (as when running from a bear). Making people feel nauseous, weak and crappy, is a good way to compel them to rest and not use ATP for nonessential things. That leaves more ATP generating capacity for use by the immune system. With more ATP, the immune system works better and resolves what ever problem there was faster.

I am pretty sure that any treatment that made people feel nauseous, weak and crappy would accelerate resolution of any infection.

Perhaps that is the secret of Dr. Crislip’s success as an ID doctor? How fortunate for his patients that he found a way to channel his ability into doing good.
# ElTejonon 28 Dec 2012 at 12:51 pm

I came here to pedantically point out that Marat was stabbed to death in his bath. That said, I still chuckled. I’ll go now. *slowly creeps backwards out of the room*
# Mark Crislipon 28 Dec 2012 at 1:01 pm

You are correct. If Marat came back from the dead he would be a zombie and neither a knifing nor a beheading would dispatch him, but an E978 would be a just end.
# ElTejonon 28 Dec 2012 at 1:05 pm

Is there an ICD-9 for that?!
# Pseudo Random News and Comment | Mortality Suckson 28 Dec 2012 at 1:09 pm

[...] 780.6 Fascinating discussion of fevers. 98.2 is the real average – and median. [...]
# FulfilledDeeron 28 Dec 2012 at 1:09 pm

@Mark Crislip – Whoa, I thought that a beheading would kill zombies….maybe you can do a post on that? I would hate to be employing non-SBM techniques if I ever find myself in that situation. I think that’s what kill 90% of the first casualties (“No way he’s a zombie man, come on!”).

Anyway, thank you for writing this. I know that the blog isn’t exactly tailored to doing this all the time, but as a med student I really appreciate the experience and wealth of links these posts tend to bring.
# LTon 28 Dec 2012 at 1:52 pm

As far as ICD-9 codes go, I’ve always been a fan of the fact that “crushed by alligator” and “crushed by crocodile” are actually two different codes.
# Calli Arcaleon 28 Dec 2012 at 2:36 pm

There is an ICD-9 code for the initial visit after being sucked into jet engine (V9733XA) and one for subsequent visits (V9733XD). Why do I suspect V9733XD has yet to be used?

Just have to make this comment before I read the rest….

I have no idea whether either code has been used, but in fact there is at least one incident where someone did actually survive. It occurred aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. A mechanic was sucked into the intake of an A-6 Intruder’s jet engine. He lived to tell the tale. And yes, there’s video evidence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jxcSY1AwrM

OK, now I have to read the rest of the article.
# Calli Arcaleon 28 Dec 2012 at 2:50 pm

Read the rest now. Note that the current consensus among paleontologists is that dinosaurs were endothermic, just like their modern descendents, the birds. So being warm-blooded probably did not actually help us defeat the dinosaurs — rather, it helped our ancestors survive the same catastrophe that the birds did. (After all, the dinosaurs didn’t die out! In fact, even today there are more bird species than mammal species. There was clearly a mass extinction event, but it didn’t wipe out all the dinosaurs. Just most of the ones we wouldn’t recognize as birds.)

As far as fever, with myself and my kids I’ve only ever treated it if it seemed to be making the person miserable and they wanted it gone. My youngest isn’t much fazed by fever; my eldest becomes utterly miserable. So my eldest gets medication.

But isn’t there a point where fever itself becomes harmful? Like, the really really high fevers. I had a temperature of 107 once, when I had meningitis as a child. I vaguely remember them trying to cool me off; I was in the ER, sitting naked in a tub of water. I don’t remember much of my first few days in the hospital there; I was pretty seriously out of it. I was also hallucinating, though I don’t know if that was more from the fever or the infection.
# Quillon 28 Dec 2012 at 3:41 pm

Thank you for posting this discussion. I recall in my family (doctors included) being treated for fevers as a matter of comfort, not to reduce the fever. It’s interesting to know how the 98.6 came about and reminds me of other historically accreted things in life, like styles of cups or glasses.

And since it’s Friday and Dr. Crislip is ripe with febrile information, I can’t leave without posting Peggy Lee singing “Fever” and note she doesn’t even break a sweat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYxoAJ3Boyc
# BillyJoeon 28 Dec 2012 at 6:27 pm

Well, it’s an improvement on the other thread. Temperature in C are at least mentioned if not consistently.
I have always taken normal temperature to be 36.8 +/- 0.5
Nice to know I was out by only +/- 0.1

And nice to know women’s oral temperature is higher than men’s.
It might explain why we like French kissing.
(Well, not the only reason)
# Mark Crislipon 28 Dec 2012 at 6:39 pm

I seriously considered doing all the temperatures in Kelvin.
A mean temp of 309.93 is much more impressive.
# WilliamLawrenceUtridgeon 28 Dec 2012 at 7:06 pm

I see no recommendation of putting an onion on one’s belt, which is surely salubrious, regardless the fashion of the day.
# When it really is a virus « culture and sensitivityon 28 Dec 2012 at 8:59 pm

[...] Addendum – Mark Crislip recently posted on fevers over at Science Based Medicine! [...]
# Shelleyon 28 Dec 2012 at 11:26 pm

My father has had recurrent FUO for about 20 years. Periodic episodes of fever of 103 and higher along with vomiting and bone wracking chills, sweats etc. He was treating it with doses of ibuprofen till a TIA stopped that. Now he tries acetaminophen but to no real benefit. The very long series of docs and tests have yielded exactly nil. So, he now resorts to quackery: Various herbal and vitamin and blood type diets and so on.each of which promises something, until the next episode. Sometime you have to do something, anything to try to feel better when you feel that miserable.
# me2earthon 29 Dec 2012 at 12:23 am

Mark, I love your columns, genuinely. The snarky attitude and dry humor definitely spice up the concise and thorough takedowns of SCAM thinking. But I’ve got to tell you, intelligent (my friends and even strangers tell me so), conservative/libertarian–oriented atheist readers such as myself (I guarantee there are more than you would hazard to guess) find it bizarre how often you go out of your way to ad hominem–style dismiss people such as myself as somewhat less than deserving of respect or consideration. I clearly detect that you find it funny to tweak the nerves of those you disagree with politically, whilst you whole–heartedly agree with them on scientific and skeptical/medical issues. But have you considered how unnecessarily off–putting this is to a portion of your readership? Have you considered that your obvious extensive knowledge of science based medical subjects doesn’t grant you authority on political matters? Have you considered that your obvious dogmatic adherence to partisan accepted ‘knowledge’ and factually flawed and poorly conceived opinions about policy, politics and economics contradicts your blog’s expressed principals? Have you ever sensed that the John Stewart technique of clown– nose–on, clown–nose–off routine is actually an intellectual dodge that gets old quick? Have you considered that segments of your readership likely know way more than yourself about such subjects and find your simplistically expressed beliefs emblematic of the same silly borderline–religious illogic that you indict your SCAM opponents with?

Stick to what you know (science–based medicine) and drop the alienating treatment of an important segment of your readership. It’s childish and not really funny, and entirely distracting from the many valid points you do make.
# David Gorskion 29 Dec 2012 at 9:23 am

I think you’re being way too sensitive. After all, Mark did put the little asterisk there with a self-deprecatingly humorous disclaimer; although his politics are fairly well known, Mark’s actually fairly non-partisan in his snark. Seriously. Lighten up.
# DWATCon 29 Dec 2012 at 10:52 am

@me2earth…

Considering politics and policy are philosophically and ideologically-based, and any debate on such topics are primarily semantics, do you really have a right to claim that someone has “obvious dogmatic adherence to partisan accepted ‘knowledge’ and factually flawed and poorly conceived opinions about policy, politics and economics”? “Have you considered” that YOUR opinion on such topics might not be the ‘right’ opinion? Its all opinion. Its pure rhetoric to imply one knows more about how to fix a series of generally flawed systems based on the current ideology of a society. You have the monetary system, religion, and general ignorance of the population to compete with. Good luck differentiating what you consider dogma from the giant spectrum of reality(especially since your own personal ideologies may only ‘work’ in specific systems that, again, are likely flawed to begin with). Anyone can become great at bullshitting a solution, its why it’s called politics. I’m one of those crazy socialists, of course, so apply whatever stereotype you’d like that keeps up the hyperpolarization. We do need the hyperpolarization afterall, so we can weed out the detrimental ideologies.
# DugganSCon 29 Dec 2012 at 12:10 pm

@DWATC and @David Gorski:

Honestly, I can see a bit of outrage. Try substituting “blacks” or “Jews”, or “atheists” in instead of the current subject and it becomes considerably more uncomfortable, and yet that’s essentially the same thing that’s being done.
# Mark Crislipon 29 Dec 2012 at 1:48 pm

I have this infectious disease guide. I have written it over 15 years and it is at about 650 pages. Everything I know about ID distilled and referenced to PubMed. I turned it into an app. fuodoc gave me one star: “Emotional maturity and arrogance kill this app. Wonderful opportunity to educate squandered by juvenile hateful left wing extremism of the author Grow up. ”

If you collected all the comments so described they would fill maybe half a page if you used a large font.

Two years ago I gave a talk, an update on the ID literature, and started with a paper on echinacea. Made some snarky anti-scam comment, took all of 15 seconds out of an hour talk. An evaluation give me 1/5 saying my anti-alt med attitude made the talk worthless.

I realized long ago I have a readership of one: me. If I like it, if I think it is well reasoned and clever, then I throw it into the world and if others like it, fine. If not, so be it.

“No subject is terrible if the story is true, if the prose is clean and honest, and if it affirms courage and grace under pressure.” Hemmingway. Midnight in Paris

So I guess while I care, I don’t. Don’t like it, don’t read it.

I have been giving lectures and writing for 30 years. During the Clinton years there was huge opportunity to make snark at their expense. Never had a complaint. I can’t remember a complaint about the frequent disparagement of HuffPo on this blog, although I am sure someone will take the time to find it for me. I wish Obama would actually do something so I could snark at it.

To paint with a broad brush, I tend to find conservatives and libertarians to be thin skinned crybabies who, upon going to a 5 star restaurant, would spend most the time complaining that there were walnuts in the amuse bouche.

I think walnuts ruin every food they touch.

I am not adverse to altering my language and approach. In the beginning I referred to alt med as retarded until it was pointed out to me that the retarded cannot defend themselves nor change the way they are, and therefore not a good use of the word. I agreed. I stopped using the term There are those things that innate, that can’t be changed: black, jewish, gay, etc. There are those things we choose to be: atheist, libertarian, juvenile hateful left wing extremist. That is the division I make as to what is acceptable to snark at. The latter if you can’t figure it out.

When it comes to anything that is not ID or SCAM’s, I freely admit I am Jon Snow: I know nothing. I have my ill considered biases and prejudices that I am happy with. I have yet to find a political philosophy that at its heart is no different than homeopathy. A few arbitrary axioms and irrational biases used to construct a post hoc ergo prompter hoc castle of BS. Fox news to me is the Dana Ullman of politics.

So to answer your questions; yes but don’t care, yes but don’t care, yes duh, no I think it is consistently funny, yes but don’t care.

And I do have this perverse urge in future posts to kick it up a notch. It is the contrarian in me that I will have to suppress.
# David Gorskion 29 Dec 2012 at 2:08 pm

Honestly, I can see a bit of outrage. Try substituting “blacks” or “Jews”, or “atheists” in instead of the current subject and it becomes considerably more uncomfortable, and yet that’s essentially the same thing that’s being done.

Nonsense, for the reasons Mark mentioned. One can’t help being black, and it’s very difficult to help being Jewish, particularly given that being Jewish is both religion and a culture. One chooses to be an atheist; so I guess you might have one out of three examples that is comparable, but, quite frankly, inserting the term “atheist” into Mark’s little snark wouldn’t make it “considerably more uncomfortable” to me at all. Why should it?
# David Gorskion 29 Dec 2012 at 2:11 pm

I have been giving lectures and writing for 30 years. During the Clinton years there was huge opportunity to make snark at their expense. Never had a complaint. I can’t remember a complaint about the frequent disparagement of HuffPo on this blog, although I am sure someone will take the time to find it for me.

Indeed. I’ve been really, really hard on HuffPo, both here and on my not-so-super-secret other blog. In fact, my nickname for HuffPo is “that wretched hive of scum and quackery,” so much so that most of my regular readers know what I’m referring to when I use that phrase. And it’s not as though I don’t take note of HuffPo’s left-of-center politics when I write about it, linking Arianna Huffington’s New Age beliefs to HuffPo’s embrace of all manner of quackery. I don’t recall anyone getting upset about the bile I’ve regularly dripped on HuffPo except in embarrassment that such a prominent voice of liberal politics was contaminated with so much pseudoscience and advocacy of quackery.
# David Gorskion 29 Dec 2012 at 2:13 pm

And I do have this perverse urge in future posts to kick it up a notch. It is the contrarian in me that I will have to suppress.

If you ever can’t resist that urge, I’d be more than happy to offer you a guest blogging stint at my not-so-super-secret other blog.
# WilliamLawrenceUtridgeon 29 Dec 2012 at 2:54 pm

I lean to the left, but have been making a point to read up on fallacies used by the left. I’ve also done some reading on economics, business, and criticisms of the left, done by the right. It’s quite illuminating, if nothing else it underscores Dr. Goldacre’s often-made point – “I think you’ll find it’s a little more complicated than that”.

There are things to be learned on both sides of the political divide. Resources are liimited, but money can be used judiciously for tremendous common good.

The important thing to do is to mock whenever the mockery is appropriate. Sometimes the left does boneheaded things (opposition to vaccination being one of them, mocked here with vigor) and sometimes the right (opposition to teaching evolution). There are two rules, in my mind – it should be funny, and it should make the self-important feel stupid.
# BillyJoeon 29 Dec 2012 at 3:10 pm

Mark,

“So I guess while I care, I don’t. Don’t like it, don’t read it.”

As I was reading me2earth’s diatribe I was reminded of the following:

When Richard Dawkins was asked by Neil deGrasse Tyson why he mixed his role as a science educator with his anti-religious stance, he smiled and related the story of a journalist who, when asked a similar question, simply replied:

“If you don’t like it you can just fuck off”
# BillyJoeon 29 Dec 2012 at 3:19 pm

Mark,

“So I guess while I care, I don’t. Don’t like it, don’t read it.”

As I was reading me2earth’s diatribe I was reminded of the following:

When Richard Dawkins was asked by Neil deGrasse Tyson why he mixed his role as a science educator with his anti-religious stance, he smiled and related the story of a journalist who, when asked a similar question, simply replied:

“If you don’t like it you can just f¥€k off
# Moebiuson 29 Dec 2012 at 6:38 pm

WLU, what? A gratuitous Grandpa Simpson reference!
# 2Healthyon 29 Dec 2012 at 8:13 pm

There is something odd in your reasoning. “98.6 helps keep most infections asside”. If that was the case increasing 2 degrees wouldn’t make such a difference. Moreover some people has an average temp. of 35.6 others of 38.2, does that mean the later group is much more safer than the former? Never heard of that. Besides have you ever seen microorganism culture conditions? They do like 37 quite a lot.
From an other side, for some expecific infections those 2 degrees over 98.6 may mean a whole world difference.
You also mention that there is nothing lsuch as half-fever. Well, the probably fever progresses by quantum leaps…that those intermediate stages and progression is not so significative can be truth sometimes.

For funding, research and peer finding please refer to the non-profit Aging Portfolio.
# WilliamLawrenceUtridgeon 29 Dec 2012 at 10:35 pm

@Moebius

Considering the number of times Dr. Crislip makes something fairly close to the same joke, I’m just surprised I beat him to it The classics never get old.
# Mark Crislipon 29 Dec 2012 at 11:15 pm

I make people feel nauseous, weak and crappy, I’m childish and not really funny, and repeat my jokes.
You are all turning on me.
Sigh.
# Chrison 29 Dec 2012 at 11:59 pm

Dr. Crislip, you are an infectious disease doctor. All of your patients are feel nauseous, weak and crappy, and perhaps don’t find anyone funny. The rest of them are just dazzled at your skill.

I’m not sucking up (okay, maybe), but I like how you think. I have a disabled kid who may never be able to have a job, but is not disabled enough to qualify for our state’s Department of Developmental Disabilities (he has been rejected already). Along with some spurious mental health issues, he may become one of the great uninsured if our efforts to prevent that are not successful.

Le sigh.
# BillyJoeon 30 Dec 2012 at 6:31 am

Mark,

Hmmm…my post was directed against me2earth. I hope that was clear.
What I’m saying is…it’s your blog post, so you can conduct it however you damn well please, and if someone doesn’t like it they can just f…yeah.

And wouldn’t it be boring it everyone obeyed the same rules, if everyone was nice and and accommodating and politically correct. I wouldn’t want to live in a world where everyone was a Neil deGrasse Tyson clone. Boring. Nothing against Neil deGrasse Tyson…except that the most exciting thing about him is his name (I’m joking of course).

And who the hell is me2earth anyway…an intelligent, conservative, atheist, libertarian? You have to be kidding, right? I mean, I’ll give him the atheist bit, but really…intelligent conservative libertarian? Come on.
# DugganSCon 30 Dec 2012 at 11:47 am

Personally, I’m not offended. I’m just pointing out that I could see how people could get offended. And while I know that the comment was made jokingly, there’s a part of me that’s reminded of the various forms of low-level prejudice I run into in my daily life, people making jokes about how dumb blacks are, or how gullible Christians are, and then claiming that it’s not harmful because it’s “just a joke”. And I know that you didn’t mean it as anything like that, but it’s also never a good idea to just dismiss such things.

Frankly, I usually spread my insults and ridicule pretty evenly to avoid prejudice.
# DevoutCatalyston 30 Dec 2012 at 11:59 am

Don Rickles shrugged.
# BillyJoeon 30 Dec 2012 at 2:39 pm

In order to have free speech we must forgo the right not to be offended if our religion, politics, or ideology is attacked or ridiculed. Take your pick. I’m for free speech.
# David Gorskion 30 Dec 2012 at 3:09 pm

Sometimes the left does boneheaded things (opposition to vaccination being one of them, mocked here with vigor) and sometimes the right (opposition to teaching evolution).

Actually, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that antivaccinationism is a sadly bipartisan bit of quackery. Yes, there’s the stereotype that antivaxers are mainly crunchy lefty ex-hippies or entitled affluent lefties with more money than sense (to steal from the famous Mitchell and Webb sketch about homeopathy), but there is a very hard core right wing antivaccine contingent, particularly on the fringe libertarian side, more commonly referred to as “health freedom.” (Think General Bert Stubblebine, for example.) Lefty antivaxers tend to justify their beliefs through their extreme distrust of big pharma while the right-wing antivaxers tend to justify their opposition to “forced vaccination” on the basis of their distrust of government. Indeed, the biggest antivaccinationist in Congress (fortunately, soon to be out of Congress in four days) is a Republican, Dan Burton. In fact, I’m hard-pressed to think of a single Democrat antivaxer currently serving in Congress, although I’m sure if there is such a person someone will correct me. Even the biggest quackery supporter in Congress, Tom Harkin (who is the Democratic Senator who used his clout to create NCCAM) is not antivaccine, at least not to the best of my knowledge.

What I’m saying is that at least the issue of antivaccine views is more complex than a simple left-right dichotomy. It is not at all clear that there is more antivaccine sentiment on the left than there is on the right, as discussed by my “friend” here:

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2012/03/01/politics-versus-science/

I do concede, though, that if there is an issue on which the left tends to be way more antiscience than the right it’s definitely GMOs.
# davelilieon 31 Dec 2012 at 1:45 am

“There is an ICD-9 code for the initial visit after being sucked into jet engine (V9733XA) and one for subsequent visits (V9733XD). Why do I suspect V9733XD has yet to be used?”

It does happen. This video shows a sailor getting sucked into the intake of what the History Channel says in an A-6 Intruder (though they continuously show and EA-6B Prowler in their recreation videos – something likely only noticed by pedantic aircraft nerds). This occurred on the the USS Teddy Roosevelt in 1991 during the 1st Gulf War. The sailor survives and needs follow up. He is lucky to be alive. (Note: fast forware to about 20 sec into the video, the first few seconds are part of the story.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF3Iz7b95-8&NR=1&feature=endscreen

A shorter version of the story is here (Spike channel refers to it as an “A-6 Fighter Jet” while the A-6 was an attack aircraft (hence the “A”) and did not shoot down other aircraft but dropped bombs (turned big dirt into little dirt)):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF3Iz7b95-8&NR=1&feature=endscreen
# davelilieon 31 Dec 2012 at 1:57 am

Rats! I reread and reread but the mistakes came across correctly in my head. Only once it is sent to moderation do I notice my errors, at the least the easy ones.

Was, “(Note: fast forware to about 20 sec into the video, the first few seconds are part of the story.)”

Should be:
(Note: fast forward to about 20 sec into the video, the first few seconds are NOT part of the story.)

Sorry.
# Quillon 31 Dec 2012 at 3:01 am

Whatever I think of a person’s writing, the only criticism I would offer would be constructive and only then when invited to do so.

As an analogy, I would not go into a person’s home (blog) and be a bad guest by telling them the soup is too salty, the wine off, the main course too tart, the wife in need of a facelift and the whole house in need of total redecoration.

That would just be rude.
# elburtoon 31 Dec 2012 at 4:47 am

DugganSC -

Honestly, I can see a bit of outrage. Try substituting “blacks” or “Jews”, or “atheists” in instead of the current subject and it becomes considerably more uncomfortable, and yet that’s essentially the same thing that’s being done.

I didn’t realise conservative libertarians were a marginalised group, a persecuted minority denied rights, treated as subhuman, with a history of persecution, torture, death and grave poverty.

As someone who happens to (unfortunately) belong to three or four such minority groups, I’ve experienced verbal, physical and sexual abuse/assault, been made homeless, denied work and medical treatment, and currently live on one third of the income that my government considers to represent a poverty level existence.

I cannot change any of the factors that render me a minority group member, they’re not affectations or allegiances, they’re who I am. Some hard-coded before birth, others the result of factors beyond my control, all mark me as less-than, or unworthy of basic human dignity, to a large number of people in society. All of them have played a part in the deaths of people like me, all over the globe.

I’m not even factoring in the part of me that aches for the loss of my grandfather’s family in the Nazi death camps.

Thank Hawking I’m not black or transgender, or I’d be in an even worse position, relatively speaking.

If the most that whinging Libertarians have to worry about is an aside so mild that I had to look for it three times (I only found it because Dr Gorski mentioned the asterisk), then comparing them to groups who continue to suffer from discrimination and bigotry on a daily basis is not only offensive, it’s so bloody mind-blowingly stupid that I’m surprised you can type and breathe at the same time.

Comparing disadvantaged, targeted and abused populations to a group that’s comprised of mostly middle-class white men, is just incredible. It’s one of those things that provoke the ‘laugh or cry?’ reaction.

Nevertheless, the wailing, tantrum-chucking, dummy-spitting Libertarians can be assured that all the moisture in my body, in the form of my tears, is currently being shed because some pillock has taken the huff over being compared to a lizard.

Oh wait, no. I’m crying for the lizards, who are fabulous dinosaur beasties, and do not deserve to be compared to mewling man-children who spend their days bemoaning any hint of a social contract, and shrieking “MAH TAX DOLLARS!” at the slightest provocation.

But then, I’m one of those dirty European socialist types, who thinks taxes should be increased when there’s a public services deficit, so I’m clearly not to be trusted.

*whistles ‘The Red Flag’*

Dr Crislip – never change. All the best to you (and almost everyone else) for 2013.
# BillyJoeon 31 Dec 2012 at 5:34 am

Ouch. I mean OUCH!
But I do believe me2earth has gone to ground….helped along by Duggan.
# DugganSCon 31 Dec 2012 at 9:22 am

@BillyJoe:
*faint smile* Glad to help?
# UncleHooton 31 Dec 2012 at 10:58 am

I believe that it has been long recognized that exercise increases core body temperature. I’ve wondered if, perhaps, this is one of the (many) reasons why people who exercise are generally healthier than those who do not. In more recent years, we’ve seen hyperthermia used in cancer treatments as well. So, could it actually benefit us to occasionally raise our body temperatures into the 38-39 range for a few hours per week? This article makes me wonder a bit more…
# BillyJoeon 31 Dec 2012 at 4:08 pm

UncleHoot,

You have generated an hypothesis.
I trust you know what comes next.
Your problem will be accounting for confounding variables.
Good luck!
# Kultakutrion 02 Jan 2013 at 6:15 am

Is it only me to think that some people take great pleasure in finding ways how to get offended?
# WilliamLawrenceUtridgeon 02 Jan 2013 at 7:28 am

I believe that it has been long recognized that exercise increases core body temperature. I’ve wondered if, perhaps, this is one of the (many) reasons why people who exercise are generally healthier than those who do not. In more recent years, we’ve seen hyperthermia used in cancer treatments as well. So, could it actually benefit us to occasionally raise our body temperatures into the 38-39 range for a few hours per week? This article makes me wonder a bit more…

Exercise causes a large number of temperature changes throughout the body, particularly in this case there is no single “body temperature”. The temperature inside working muscles during high intensity, long-term exercise can reach 45C or higher. The limiting factor during exercise is actually the “battle” for blood between muscles and skin – the former to provide energy and eliminate wastes, the latter to cool the blood through sweat and radiation. Eventually too much blood perfuses the skin, the muscles run out of sugar and simply shut down. The physiological changes that occur with exercise are widespread and go far beyond just a rise in temperature (here is a starting point, though it does note that changes in temperature is often ignored in in vitro experiments )