Comment by ComputerGuru | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ComputerGuru | Hacker News Reader

The TFA asks "how do you test for Toxo" - the answer: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/toxoplasmos...

That article really made me shudder: A small literature is coming out now reporting neuropsychological testing on men who are Toxo-infected, showing that they get a little bit impulsive. … And then the truly astonishing thing: two different groups independently have reported that people who are Toxo-infected have three to four times the likelihood of being killed in car accidents involving reckless speeding

I have a cat (and have always had one) and am in constant close contact (she's literally in my lap non-stop while I'm at home) and I sometimes (often?) forget to clear the cat litter for days (yuck, I know). And I have this thing where I always feel I'm simply not going fast enough while on the road (140kmph on mountain roads is normal for me during my 90km one-way daily commute). Am I just overreacting (traditional self-diagnosis) or is this really worth looking into?

The likelihood that you're accurately judging the origins of your driving behavior from your keyboard while a cat is on your lap after reading an article like this is 0.0%. I have a dog in the room with me. Let me help you out. You are not a toxo zombie, 'ComputerGuru.

Hehe. I feel much better already ;)

Unless you live in France, where 88% of the population are carriers... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis#In_humans

how do we know that the Toxo parasite isn't making you say that? ;)

ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNO-ZOITE.

I suggest we all go to the Brain Slug planet -- just walk around, not wearing a helmet.

Funny, but you guys are making a classic logical mistake: mocking a potentially serious problem because it seems to have a completely mundane and boring source (housecats).

If the article was about how taking a medicine for high blood pressure increased the risk of death by car accident by 5x, or if flying in a plane the past week increased the risk of death by car accident 5x, or anything more obscure and unusual, you'd be all over it.

I think the mocking is not the mundane and boring source, rather the logic of "I drive fast, and I have a cat so it must be toxo."

That's unsound logic, no matter how mundane or extraordinary the housecat is, because habitual fast driving happens for any number of reasons of which toxoplasma gondii is possibly one.

It's also unsound logic that is clearly a result of watching and reading an especially vivid piece on the fascinating mechanations of toxo. If I read a piece on the symptoms of spleen cancer, I'm going to think I have that ailment too; it's just how my brain works.

I think you're making a classic mistake. Mistaking humor for some sort of serious position or criticism. :)

Parasite infected or not, there's something wrong when a hundred and forty thousand miles per hour still isn't fast enough

On the plus side, you've got your 90km commute below 1.5s, which is quite an achievement.

140 kilometers per hour*, huge difference

km/h is the usual abbreviation

A little bit of speeding is frankly just a guy thing. Believe me, you can get a lot crazier than 140kph. There's some popular roads near where I live where motorcyclists allegedly routinely exceed 160kph by a good margin, and we're not talking the straightish kind. Best I ever did was ~130 in a (admittedly outdated) track-prepped car.

However, with the prevalence of the parasite, I suspect spending a lot of time near cats is reasonable cause for suspicion, esp if they are mousers/ratters. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol9no11/03-0098.htm

^ allegedly 10-20% of Americans may have toxo, and I've heard some 20-30% households have cats.

Obviously not EVERYBODY has it, but take a 1 in 5 chance and then introduce a risk factor? I wouldn't just dismiss it out of hand.

Oh 140 is just the normal "I'm bored and want to get home already" speed during semi-flat stretches. I've done up to 180, but only when alert and confident of the road and the surroundings.

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