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Comment by SketchySeaBeast | Hacker News Reader

But there's a ton of social mores that aren't required anymore - for instance, pork or shellfish is perfectly safe to consume when appropriately prepared. And I'd love to see if you had any evidence at all that the reason for Ramadan (or a similar fasting ceremony) is actually meant to sneak in healthy life habits - seems coincidental to me.

This whole problem can be solved by a change in attitude and wearing condoms.

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Well that’s the problem, ain’t it? People aren’t wearing conforms.

Yeah, but when looking back at ancients civilizations with taboos around promiscuous sex it was making the act off limits rather than sensible health education.

     > if you had any evidence at all that the reason for Ramadan (or a similar fasting ceremony

The act of fasting, i.e. calorie restrictions, is good for you. It confers actual health benefits.

     > But there's a ton of social mores that aren't required anymore

True, but don't forget humans are creatures of habit and traditions.

Some still worship some guy that died 2021+ years ago (or so) . We made our calendar around his whole life. With holy days and all.

And another set of humans worship another person that lived around 1500 years ago

     > This whole problem can be solved by a change in attitude and wearing condoms.

To a degree yes. Until the virus evolves to just break down parts of plastic. Given enough time virus will do whatever it needs to survive.

There are already microbes that breakdown plastic and virus are adept at horizontal gene transfer (between different species or genus altogether).

> The act of fasting, i.e. calorie restrictions, is good for you. It confers actual health benefits.

I'm not going to argue that (though I do question the overall efficacy of fasting aside from caloric restriction, but regardless, that's beside the point), but I am arguing that not what the intent was originally for - it's a side effect that can help, but wasn't considered.

> To a degree yes. Until the virus evolves to just break down parts of plastic. Given enough time virus will do whatever it needs to survive.

Sure, but until that time condoms work just fine. I feel like that's a huge leap for what an STI can do. Otherwise we also have to worry it could go airborne and spread without doing anything given that bacteria (which is what Syphilis is) can do that as well but that seems equally unlikely. In fact it has had a reason to develop airborne transmission capabilities for millennia longer than it has had reason to fight latex.

    > I am arguing that not what the intent was originally for - it's a side effect that can help, but wasn't considered.

And I'm saying the intent doesn't matter, the side effect does. Let's say one group A say eating brain of fallen foes is good, gives strength, group B say, don't eat humans - that angers gods.

Group A eats some fallen foes, and by chance contracts prion disease and dies out.

Group B isn't going to think yeah, this was caused by microscopic particles. They are going to think - See. I was right. Gods are angry at you. Then they will persist to replicate the behavior for centuries after it could make any impact.

    >  I feel like that's a huge leap for what an STI can do.

It was an example. Since it already affects the brain, it could just evolve to make you more likely to engage in risky behavior and not use condom (like giving you an allergic reaction when using latex). Right now, it doesn't have this ability. But can we be certain it won't acquire it in future? We know at least one pathogen that can alter behavior in mammals (Toxoplasmosis).

It's better ofc, to eradicate it now and not worry about it, but the thing is, promiscuous behavior will always be a breeding lab for these kind of pathogens. Even if none exist, some might evolve into it. If there is a niche to be exploited, some pathogen will evolve to exploit it.

Yes, some items are directly good advice for the time and ours. Not all will - like my pork and shellfish example. Those are fine now - same with being more promiscuous if you leverage the technology of the time. Doesn't matter what god thinks.

And regarding adaptation you're playing a game of "what if" that's not terribly helpful, like my example of it going airborne. Then it doesn't matter what happens. Yeast could mutate and literally turn us into brain munching zombies, but I don't know why that matters.

> Not all will - like my pork and shellfish example.

Depends on context. If for example eating shellfish/pork caused harm once or twice, people could extrapolate it's evil or something. People are good at finding pattern where none exist.

> Yeast could mutate and literally turn us into brain munching zombies

Riiight. But if it did, it would wipe itself out too fast. Like we already have Zombie like disease. It's called rabies.

> And regarding adaptation you're playing a game of "what if"

It's less of what if, and more of a game, let's make our next STD <insert measure> resistant. Whether it's antibiotics or viral or admittedly far fetched example of latex evasion. As long as there is fertile soil for STD there will be STDs.

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