Putting Out the Fire on the Gas Stove Debate

Have you heard all the hullabaloo about the danger of gas stoves? According to some, the emissions are causing asthma and other respiratory diseases in people (including children) exposed to them.

Really?

We’ve been using gas stoves for hundreds of years, and we’ve been studying all sorts of things that can cause disease. And yet, in all that time, we’ve never heard a word about gas stoves.

But now it’s in the news. And, like everything else that pops up in our newsfeeds, it’s become a political issue. Liberals are alarmed and want gas stoves banned or discontinued. Conservatives are saying, “Are you serious?”

I was happy to come across an essay on this hot-today-ice-cold-tomorrow topic in a recent issue of Peter Attia’s newsletter. Attia, in case you don’t know, is a doctor and a serious scientist whose work I’ve come to trust.

Here he is explaining the controversy and the science as we know it.

Is Book Reading a Dying Art? 

Americans are reading fewer books each year. According to a recent Gallup poll, the average American read 12.6 books in 2022, down from about 15 books ten years ago. The decline is steeper among college graduates, who read an average of 14.6 books last year versus 21 books ten years ago.

It’s not difficult to figure out why. Spend ten minutes on any form of public transportation, and you’ll see what’s going on. Back in the day – i.e., before the iPhone – most commuters that weren’t nodding off or ogling had their noses in books. Today, their eyes are fixed on their phones.

iPhones are especially seductive because they offer super-easy access to short-form media experiences. It’s free. It’s gratifying in its way. And that’s a shame. Because it is definitely dumbifying Americans.

That’s why I believe it’s important to make book reading a discipline. If you set a goal of reading one book a week, you will be way ahead of the pack.

On his website, Scott Young had this to say about the importance of setting that goal:

“Reading books is both a skill and a habit. As an acquired skill, reading is initially effortful but becomes easier as we become fluent, recognizing words and building background knowledge of the matters discussed. As a habit, reading is something we choose to do (or not) in our moments of downtime.

“But both skills and habits can atrophy. If you spend less time reading, it takes more effort to work through challenging texts. If you decide to read less often, choosing to read becomes more effortful. Reading books, and the opposite, can both become self-reinforcing actions – readers read more books, while nonreaders find it increasingly hard to do so.”