• Question: why are we too clean and such obssessed humans not giving a second thought to those who live in such terrible conditions- isn't being moderately clean enough to satisfy us??

    Asked by ninja to MarkF, Mark, Michael, Panos, Sarah on 22 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Sarah Burl

      Sarah Burl answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      I agree moderately clean is enough! I have athree second role for anything that touches the floor, pick it up quick and it will be OK but that is not based on science.Obviously not all dirt is good so it is still very important to wash your hands after going to the toilet and ifyou have a cold and you don’t want everyone around you to get it then keep washing your hands. however by giving your cold to everyone means that you are helping their immune systems develop and they will not get the same cold again.

    • Photo: Mark Travis

      Mark Travis answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      I guess there are a couple of questions that you ask here.

      One is why are humans not giving a second thought to people who live in terrible conditions. Well, this is a difficult one to answer….. I agree that in a perfect world we should use all the obscene amounts of money made by corporate companies and banks in the Western world to help people in living in terrible conditions (in the UK and Third World countries). But I guess human beings can be greedy and selfish…..

      I guess the other question is why are we too clean? Well, we are very careful about being clean because we are aware of the devastating illness and disease that can be caused if we live in unsanatory conditions (cholera, typhoid, etc). So, having hygenic conditions is important to prevent such diseases. But, there is an idea that is very popular with a lot of scientists called the ‘hygiene hypothesis’. It is used to explain the fact that in most countries in the Western world, in recent years there has been a massive increase in the number of people who have allergies in inner cities whereas this isn’t seen in people who live in more rural areas (i.e. on farms). Some scientists claim that this is due to us being too clean now-a-days; children in inner cities today don’t see as many bacteria and other microbes as kids in older days, as people are more careful about sterilising everything and keeping everything super clean. So, when the immune system sees an allergen like pollen or nuts, it goes crazy and causes an allergic reaction. Whereas people in less developed countries (and those on farms) don’t live in such a clean environment (so they say), so their immune systems are tickled all through childhood. So, when they see something that can cause an allergy, they ignore it.

      Bit complicated I know, but basically there are a lot of people who think we are too clean now-a-days…… but we have to be careful because if we aren’t clean enough we can get ill as well!! I think there is some truth to us being too clean, but wouldn’t recommend letting babies roll about in the mud…..

    • Photo: Mark Fogg

      Mark Fogg answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      You are very right, we obsess over too many trivialities rather than getting on and living productive and fruitful lives. We’re too self obsessed in the developed world because there is little to really threaten us on a daily basis, unlike some other unfortunate places. Most people are far too easily seduced by slick advertising that tells us we should be clean, clean, clean. It’s like food, too little is bad, too much is bad, and the wrong kind is bad, but a moderate amount of the right sort can be good.
      That’s why events like this are so great. If all we manage to do is help you guys understand how to assess evidence and make up your own minds, from accurate and reliable sources, then we’ve done a good job, irrespective of who wins. When you students are older I hope you will ALL be able to think for yourselves and be individuals. Don’t let anyone tell you what to think, but also don’t expect everyone to think the same way as you do.

    • Photo: Panos Soultanas

      Panos Soultanas answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Hi Ninja,

      I agree with you that sometimes people are obsessed with cleaning. You are right that normal cleaning should be fine and actually more beneficial in some cases. I fully agree with you.

    • Photo: Michael Loughlin

      Michael Loughlin answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      I think we all worry about ourselves and our loved ones and this sometimes makes empathy with people we don’t know harder.
      I think moderately clean, with healthy well cooked food is fine

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