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The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

(www.economist.com)
279 points petethomas | 1 comments | 19 Sep 25 04:46 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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pinkmuffinere ◴[19 Sep 25 07:09 UTC] No.45298755[source]▶
It’s tempting to see things like this and think “well of course it does, because that’s how we evolved”. But I think that might just be post-rationalization? At the very least, I think the argument _doesn’t_ hold for periodic famine, extreme temperatures, most disease, etc even though we also evolved with those things. Is there any guiding principle that separates the things-we-evolved-with-that-are-good vs the -that-are-bad? Or is it really just a case-by-case examination?
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brightball ◴[19 Sep 25 17:42 UTC] No.45304373[source]▶
Since I was a little kid I was always skeptical of slathering something all over my body just to go outside. Just thought…how did people survive before this stuff if we really need it so bad.
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1. heavyset_go ◴[20 Sep 25 07:29 UTC] No.45311267[source]▶
The ozone layer wasn't as weak as it is now. We receive more radiation from the sun at the surface than we did before CFCs.

In the past, people, in general, remained in the general vicinity of where they were born. Different skin types adapted to different amounts of sunlight.

We also didn't have the knowledge to link death and disease with their actual causes.

That said, in the past, people used variety of materials for sunscreen without the knowledge that "too much radiation bad". Mud/clay/etc seems to be something multiple cultures over time used. In cultures where working in the sun is common, wearing long clothes that blocks the sun is also a thing, and works like sunscreen.

Given that last point, I think baking in the sun while nearly naked to the point of developing disease is a relatively recent cultural thing, but that's just a guess.