Well, the reduction in fertility in the US is dramatic and exceeds expectations. I have not heard anyone suggest that this is due to low sperm count or any other non socio economic factors. The same trend plays out in virtually every country with increasing income and educational attainment. Empowerment of women also contributes to the trend in countries where they are allowed the agency to decide on the number and timing of their offspring.
Taking a general trend in a small sub-sample is an oft used tool of fear mongering. So, in a segment of the population numbers have declined x percent and then we make a graph that shows a line or curve heading in a certain direction. You then extend that line to obtain a prediction and that is good if that's how most things, such as sperm count, worked. They don't. What you typically will see is a plateau and not a collapse. This is true of most any type of data analytics. If I wanted to sound the clarion of population control wearing my new white mega hat then this information would suit me well. However, the data as presented is not complete and doesn't take into account all the variables in order to support the conclusion of a collapse. It would be the same if I looked at Game Stop stocks a few weeks back and predicted that their stellar growth would lead them to become the new leaders in tech/ retail. My chart would have looked impressive but not matched the reality on the ground.
As sperm counts drop, people are born with longer, thicker penises.
Sounds like maybe you missed out.
SLO
I plead guilty to putting the entertainment potential ahead of critical thinking. I mean, if sperm counts shrink to zero by 2045, do penii hit the wall around 2075? By 2100 they will essentially be vaginas? The horror.
A a science news thread is a great idea, as long as we can have some agreement on what constitutes science.
The previous post is a great example of someone not applying critical thinking. Btw, I wonder how some of the great anti-mask mob would feel if they were lying on an operating table and noticed the surgeon and assistants all with masks. Would they call them wusses and insist they de-mask?
Warring a or two or three masks is like putting a chain link fence around your home to keep the mosquitos out.
Why not a science thread?
Plummeting sperm counts, shrinking penises: toxic chemicals threaten humanity
Erin Brockovich
The end of humankind? It may be coming sooner than we think, thanks to hormone-disrupting chemicals that are decimating fertility at an alarming rate around the globe. A new book called Countdown, by Shanna Swan, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, finds that sperm counts have dropped almost 60% since 1973. Following the trajectory we are on, Swan’s research suggests sperm counts could reach zero by 2045...
