Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Study: Stop Being So Cynical, You Could Give Yourself Dementia

Posted by timothy on from the yeah-right-grandma dept.

concertina226 (2447056) writes "Scientists from the University of Eastern Finland have found that people who have high levels of cynical distrust are three times as likely to suffer from dementia in later life, than those who have more faith in other people. Their study is the first of its kind to look at the relationship between cynicism and dementia. Entitled: 'Late-life cynical distrust, risk of incident dementia, and mortality in a population-based cohort', it is published in the latest issue of the journal Neurology. Over a period of eight years, the researchers studied 1,499 people, who all had an average age of 71. The participants were given tests for dementia and a questionnaire to measure their level of cynicism, based on the Cook-Medley Scale."

30 of 153 comments (clear)

  1. There's a relationship... by Morphine007 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... but is it cause and effect? Or effect and effect? Could the very high levels of cynical distrust be a result of some malady that eventually causes the dementia?

    --
    Oh god, that woman is John Romero!
    1. Re:There's a relationship... by Bite+The+Pillow · · Score: 2

      The study ends with "more research needed", so it really hasn't proven anything, let alone cause and effect.

      Of course, that doesn't prevent people from mentioning correlation and causation to feel smarter. Obviously the headline is from the article author, and has nothing to do with the study. Just as obviously, "could" is used precisely because the link is only demonstrated, not understood.

      That said, cynical people rarely exercise their brains to understand the world, and that lack of use mirrors other pathways to dementia. A little critical thinking every day is good for you, certainly. Jumping to the obvious "cos corporate interests" or "duh NSA" is no brain work at all.

      Pay attention to the cynical responses here and elsewhere, and it will make sense shortly. Of course, making sense does not also make something true. But it is a step better than being written off as correlation and therefore unworthy of news or discussion.

    2. Re:There's a relationship... by bluegutang · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'd guess that cynical or distrustful people end up with lesser social connections to other people, a factor which has already been linked to dementia.

    3. Re:There's a relationship... by XARG · · Score: 3, Funny

      ... but is it cause and effect? Or effect and effect? Could the very high levels of cynical distrust be a result of some malady that eventually causes the dementia?

      You have just increased your dementia chances.

    4. Re:There's a relationship... by uncqual · · Score: 4, Interesting

      You are confusing being "cynical" with having a "closed mind".

      I suspect cynical people likely think things through more than those who are very trusting.

      Those that are very trusting don't see a need to question and think deeply about things other people say, do, or offer (which is why they end up falling for various scams) until after they get screwed and then, in my experience, they don't learn much from it. Cynics, on the other hand, don't accept something to be true just because someone said it and therefore have to evaluate and think about most everything they hear -- making them think and exercise their brains. Also, when they get screwed in spite of their due caution, they tend to think back as to what they missed about the situation that would have prevented them from getting into it.

      Of course, you probably shouldn't trust my insight on this as, being a cynic, I am probably biased (but only cynics will understand that or care about that).

      --
      Why is there an "insightful" mod and why isn't it "-1"? If I wanted insight, I wouldn't be reading /.
    5. Re:There's a relationship... by Grishnakh · · Score: 2

      Non-cynical people are also known as "gullible".

      They probably believe silly things like "the US government is the 'good guys'", "the police are good guys with just a few bad apples and don't violate peoples' rights on a regular basis", "corporations are run by good people who want to improve society", etc.

    6. Re:There's a relationship... by hey! · · Score: 2

      Well, here's one possible effect and cause scenario that occurred to me.

      Start with a healthy person who has a generally positive view of humanity. That doesn't mean he believes every human is good and honest; he relies on his critical thinking to know when an offer is too good to be true and his social perception to sense when someone is trying to put one over on him.

      Now give him some brain damage so that his critical thinking and social perception don't work so well any longer. How does he react? He falls back on simple, generalized rules. Since he can no longer tell a dishonest man or scheme from an honest one, he takes the default position that everyone and everything is dishonest.

      You can see this at operation in the country. I've lived over fifty years in this country and cynicism is at an all-time high. But strangely enough, so is credulity. We've become a nation of cynical suckers.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    7. Re:There's a relationship... by cyn1c77 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'd guess that cynical or distrustful people end up with lesser social connections to other people, a factor which has already been linked to dementia.

      I'd guess that the cynicism is an early manifestation of dementia in the people who manifest dementia!

      How do we tell who is right in proper peer-reviewed fashion?

    8. Re:There's a relationship... by bluegutang · · Score: 2

      How do we tell who is right in proper peer-reviewed fashion?

      Well, my comment got modded up higher than yours... :)

  2. Self fulfilling prophecy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Reading about bogus 'studies' like this makes me more cynical than ever, thus giving me dementia.

  3. Meh by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just about all studies are crap anyway. Why would this one be any different?

  4. Re:Correlation is not causation by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2, Informative

    Seems these people and the OP have already given themselves stupidity...

    To be fair, the causation implied by the idiotic headline in both the summary, and TFA, did not come from the study. The authors were very careful to say that the effects were only "associated".

  5. Or ... by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe people who blindly trust everyone never get identified as having dementia, because they just go along with everything you say?

    Now get off my lampshade!

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:Or ... by CanHasDIY · · Score: 2

      Maybe people who blindly trust everyone never get identified as having dementia, because they just go along with everything you say?

      Yea, OK, that sounds good...

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  6. Wait by xdor · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So critical thinking leads to dementia?

    Or do we notice more when people with high mental function lose it than those who never had good thinking skills in the first place?

    1. Re:Wait by emacs_abuser · · Score: 3, Informative

      Critical thinking is not the same thing as being cynical.
      You can be skeptical without being cynical.

    2. Re:Wait by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Funny

      You can be skeptical without being cynical.

      I doubt it. :-P

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  7. Re:Correlation is not causation by nospam007 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "What if cynicism is just an early warning sign of dementia?"

    We used to call it a cranky old fart.

  8. I don't trust the authors of this article by freezin+fat+guy · · Score: 4, Funny

    What's their angle?

  9. Quick! sombody tell Alex Jones! by FudRucker · · Score: 2

    that guy blathers extremely cynical conspiracy theories 24/7/365 and all those poor fools stupid enough to listen are doomed to dementia

    --
    Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
  10. Re:Why? by Bite+The+Pillow · · Score: 2

    A prejudice towards cynicism, that is pre judgement before the facts are known, robs you of the opportunity to process and analyze new info. If every fact were dismissed as "selfish bastards", you would be in the same pattern of disuse as anyone else on the path to dementia.

    Controlling for various thing means that of the people who use their brain in similar ways, cynics who process less information developed more symptoms of disuse.

    Dismissing these results without consideration may have been humor, but it matches the dismissive cynic well enough that the replies and moderation do not currently recognize it as such, which is why it deserves a response.

  11. The chicken and the egg? by Rambo+Tribble · · Score: 2

    I might posit that cynicism is a coping mechanism for the dementia-impaired.

  12. To prevent fire, burn everything ahead of time by Atrox666 · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you're optimistic in this world you are already delusional so how would they tell if you're suffering from dementia?

  13. Really? by Simulant · · Score: 2

    Tell you what... If you stopping making up misleading headlines I'll try and not be so cynical about them.

  14. Maybe I'm Just Cynical ... by ilparatzo · · Score: 2

    I might just be cynical [har har har], but there is something about a group saying "hey, if you don't just trust what people are telling you, you will one day become crazy". I would rather end up a little crazy in my later life than become too optimistic. A little bit of cynicism keeps you from being taken advantage of too much.

    It's like the government funding a study that finds that if you question what the government says or does, you're more likely to end up with Alzheimers. So you better stop complaining and believe everything we say.

  15. Re:It Never Fails . . . by cellocgw · · Score: 2

    What is exercised the most becomes the strongest.

    Sadly, about half the population has learned they have one muscle which never gets stronger (or bigger) no matter how much they exercise it.

    OK, I'll stop with the Jr. High School humor.

    --
    https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
  16. Just keep drinking the Kool-Aid... by mschaffer · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just keep drinking the Kool-Aid. Apparently they put anti-dementia meds in it.

  17. Re: Eastern Finland have found that .. by GungaDan · · Score: 2

    Huck, maybe, but definitely not his pap.

    --
    Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
  18. Kool-Aid cures Dementia by 7bit · · Score: 2

    So in other words.. You'd better drink societies Kool-Aid and smile all the time or else they'll start calling you crazy.

    * Cynical interpretation of TFA.

  19. Re:Why? by Nephandus · · Score: 2

    There are things worse than death. Unsurprisingly, the acute ones require life. The chronic ones require time. Living longer just facilitates more acute and chronic negatives, often with less and less likely positives. Basically, there's rarely a point in being an old cynic, due to being old, not to being a cynic. Survival is means only. We cynics know that better than anyone.

    --
    "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."