franklyn
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Unforeseen Consequences of Pb(CH2CH3)4 Tetraethyl lead exposure
The end of the use of leaded gasoline may be the cause of the fall of violent crime
over the past 25 years. Epidemiological research linking lead exposure in small
children with myriad complications later in life , including lower IQ , hyperactivity ,
behavioral problems , and learning disabilities , suggested a link between childhood
lead exposure and juvenile delinquency later on. Had lead exposure an effect on
violent crime also ?
www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/lead-crime-link-gaso...
Scroll down to - In 1994 Rick Nevin was a consultant - for the essentials.
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AndersHoveland
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The evidence clearly shows that African Americans were exposed to much higher levels of the substance than the rest of the population.
http://news.usc.edu/#!/article/30523/Study-Finds-Disparities...
[Edited on 6-1-2013 by AndersHoveland]
I'm not saying let's go kill all the stupid people...I'm just saying lets remove all the warning labels and let the problem sort itself out.
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arsphenamine
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These are primary documents from which the Mother Jones article is drawn.
Nevin's 2000 study on lead and violent crime in the US
Nevin's 2007 study on lead and international violent crime
Meilke's study on lead exposure in major US cities
With correlation factors ~0.90, I'd have to say that causation is indisputable.
New Orleans' violent crime rates and firearm deaths are the highest in the US, in accord with the lead exposure levels.
Several bills before Congress seek to relax standards on tetraethyl lead use. Far be it from me to label these bills' sponsors as dangerous
psychopaths requiring permanent censure.
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franklyn
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Related thread
www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=23011
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AJKOER
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I would believe your argument more if you examined the crime rates in Boston over time. This city instituted smart programs (after school study,
lunch, summer programs,...) which reduced crime. If lead exposure was about the same as a peer of other cities where crime rates remained unchanged,
your hypothesis is void.
[Edited on 3-2-2013 by AJKOER]
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AndersHoveland
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Lead exposure is only one factor, there are others also...
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franklyn
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www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2141160/Born-bad-Rap...
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2273857/Neurologist-...
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unionised
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I wouldn't.
How about the relation between world jet fuel consumption
http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?product=jet-fuel&g...
and mobile 'phone ownership in the developed world
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mobile_phone_subscribers_p...
which give a correlation coefficient of 0.87
Do you think 'phone ownership causes fuel use or is the causation the other way round?
It's easy to play this game, find two values that both have a tendency to trend with a third value- time is usually the easiest)- then plot them
against eachother and calculate the correlation coefficient.
Here's a similar joke
http://xkcd.com/925/
Now imagine what plots of crime rate vs poverty and lead exposure vs poverty would look like.
I dare say lead exposure has an effect but I think other effects are bigger
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confounding
[Edited on 4-6-13 by unionised]
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12AX7
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FSMism and the rate of piracy 
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