Rome's Hidden Killer | Hacker News Reader

Rome's Hidden Killer

ideastronaut.com

12 pointsimdsm19 comments

Articles like this one really benefit from some references and footnotes. I had trouble finding sources for the skeletal remains being found with lead accumulation, for example.

It is interesting how the author describes lead poisoning as likely being more common amongst the elite. Comparing this to the current state of the world, it seems to affect areas of the world where infrastructure may be weaker[1].

[1]: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/death-rate-lead-exposure

I found this one pretty quickly: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/arcm.12513

> these data provide unequivocal confirmation that the Romans in Londinium were exposed to elevated lead levels. Elevated blood lead levels would have resulted, negatively affecting their health and possibly contributing to declining birth rates.

Appreciate the feedback and will incorporate it into articles

That AI-generated header image is horrible...

Also, "lead poisoning caused the fall of Rome" is something I first encountered decades ago. It doesn't seem to be that well regarded if Wikipedia can be trusted

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historiography_of_the_fall_of_...

> That AI-generated header image is horrible...

It looks like there are rows of parked cars along the road... in ancient Rome!

There are, makes me think no human ever reviewed that image. Or they just have terrible taste.

:-(

"Historians have argued for decades about whether Roman lead poisoning was primarily due to plumbing or cups. But using advanced artificial intelligence, we can peel back layers of history and discover the true answer: leaded gasoline."

I'm not familiar with ideastronaut, but to me, it feels like every aspect of the site is AI generated, including the article.

huh, looks like they published an AI generated piece every day for a week, let them age a bit, and maybe are now submitting here to either farm karma or test how much engagement this set of parameters generates? more interesting than the "article"

Luckily HN has a button to use for articles that do this.

I get that people eschew generated content but this is more AI-assisted writing than purely generated, but I take the feedback in the thread into account, thanks

If people can tell, then it needs some work.

Thanks, that's all part of the process. The aim isn't to appear entirely human-written, but to provide original and enjoyable content. From the stats we saw, we did that.

More than the header image I reckon.

I’m still not at the point where I jump to “AI” when encountering writing like this and spend way too long waiting for the facts and research to show up.

I tend to be very skeptical of articles that uncover hidden truths from 2,000 years ago, with zero citations.

Citation feedback taken — this is more about highlighting things we don't know we know, and hopefully in a way that makes the articles easy to read, interesting, and yet in a consumable size for our busy lives

I love AI so much. Instead of wasting minutes reading fluff, I can easily get a bullet-pointed list that takes 10 seconds to read!

- Lead was widely used in Roman society due to its malleable and durable properties, appearing in plumbing, pottery, cooking vessels, cosmetics and more.

- The Romans were unaware of lead's toxic effects on health. It was seen as a sign of progress and prosperity.

- Archaeological evidence shows Romans had startlingly high levels of lead in their bones, far exceeding modern safety standards.

- Lead exposure undermined public health in Rome. It reduced fertility, increased infant mortality, and stunted physical and cognitive development in children.

- The effects of lead poisoning were systemic and indiscriminate. Everyone from commoners to emperors was affected through the water system.

- Chronic lead poisoning may have weakened the Roman military over generations by reducing the number of physically capable soldiers.

- Lead also likely impaired decision-making among Roman leaders through cognitive and behavioral changes.

- The health burden of lead poisoning bred social stresses like reduced population growth and a less productive populace.

- While not the sole factor, lead poisoning gradually eroded Rome's strength and resilience over centuries.

- The story serves as a warning about unintended long-term consequences of substances integrated into daily life.

Hopefully it doesn't have too much fluff — we're designing the articles to be quick, consumable chunks that you don't end up bookmarking, but I appreciate sometimes you just want a TLDR.

So, we've added a TLDR to articles. Hope that helps!

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