Does this mean you can't grasp the concept I put to you, or that you didn't bother to read it?

Funny thing. I was just this evening reading a Dilbert book, and in there it summed up so nicely why people are unable to apply critical reasoning.

It said "People are so accustomed/conditioned to take sides, that they perceive an analytical response as hatred/someone attacking them."

So, we see here someone desperately chanting the mantra that 'sunshine equals cancer' and this entrenched attitude renders them implacably opposed to the concept that some sunshine is good, that triggering doses and events vary from person to person, and solar intensity varies from place to place, so trying to create a one size fits all system is doomed to failure.

Never mind. I'd suggest wearing a lead suit and only ever going out at night, but even then you can get skin cancer. After all, non smokers still get lung cancer.

presumably the sun has been around quite a long time, so did neanderthals and homo erectus get sunburn and cancer.? presumably we will never know.

but there are early records of people dying of "the wasting disease" which presumably would be cancer, they didnt have cigarettes. Do you know of any comments about the early Egyptians getting sunburn and melanomas ?

Very true, though I don't suppose it would be remotely possible that you would ever consider yourself within this category by any chance ?

I strive to be correct, and I have no time for belief. When people believe in religion, or a political party, or they believe in an idea, they lay themselves open to being wrong.

Everything I consider to be true, I treat with critical reasoning based on what has gone before that I have seen to be repeatedly correct. I might prefer the concept of the politics of the centre left, but do you ever hear me supporting a political party, or do you hear me applying criticism to both sides?

You prove to me where I am wrong, and I will change my world view to accomodate the new facts.

You will notice here that I don't say that sunshine doesn't cause cancer?

I say that too much CAN cause it, that burns give a higher risk, that people have varying responses, and different localities present higher or lower risks.

Our friend from Perth tho can merely quote the sunshine is death yada yada yada.

You come to me with balanced analysis of a situation, and I'll treat it with respect. Simply arrive shrieking a dearly held belief, and I'll challenge it.

Nope. I doubt it. They would be out in the open all the year round and unclad (erectus that is). I deliberately expose myself to increasing amounts of sun each day in the early spring so that by the time I'm working in the garden in full sun, I don't get burnt. That's the same idea.

Neanderthals. Cold climate hominids, almost certainly wearing clothing of a kind, so I imaging that if they took off the clothing and exposed themselves to too much too quickly, then yes, I think they would burn as the melanin buildup protection takes time.

You can kid yourself bil but exposure to the sun long term is very dangerous indeed, you do not build resistance to the sun, tghe longer you abuse it the greater your risks, have you any links to your rather strange statement that you build up an immunity to the harmful rays of the sun?
Australia has the highest skin cancer incidence rate in the world1.
Australians are four times more likely to develop a skin cancer than any other form of cancer2.
Approximately two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer before the age of 7


http://www.health.gov.au/internet/sk...Content/fact-2

Very good. Australia has many features that boost the risk of skin cancer. For example, the sun is stronger than in say the UK, and there is a strong beach culture. The warmer climate means more of an outdoor life.

However as I keep posting, all that means is that your chance, as an individual, of getting skin cancer is higher there.

You act as tho the slightest exposure to the sun will guarantee skin cancer.

This is just as foolish as the idiots that say that you must drink 8 litres of water a day, that you must take vitamin supplements, and you must eat 5x 100g portions of vegetables and fruits a day.

All this is well intentioned shite, as the amounts and numbers are meaningless cannot be quantified, and were simply plucked out of thin air.

I bet you can't even tell me what a safe dose of sunlight is, can you?

This bit got cut out for some reason. Never mind.

Here we go. First off I am not kidding anyone. Every single thing I do carries a risk to my wellbeing. As an adult, I always assumed that it is my right to choose where I set the limits.

How much exposure is going to be dangerous to me then?

Do point out where I used the expression immunity? A slowly built up tan protects you from burning. That's what melanin does, and that's what I said.

Personally I enjoy a bit of sun after winter. It makes me feel a lot better than I would be staying indoors because some health wierdo was telling me I'm going to die if I go out in the sun.

I'm going to die of something in the next 40 years. Thanks to the shit cllimate in the UK my track record of sunburn is low, and odds are it will be something other than skin cancer that does it.

with the posting you are doing on the OZ site of BE I am surprised you can find the time to keep us amused here in Spain with all this information on the illnesses of Australians, or is it just expat Australians. however we aren't a bunch of ignorant abo's but have travelled the world under the same sun before dropping anchor in this small part of God's paradise on Earth

Give my regards to the girls in Perth next time you are there

A similar arguement could well be used with regard to the smoking issue.
Smoking does not necessarily mean cancer, but as with exposure to Sun the risks are greatly increased.

Bearing in mind that ppl have different tolerance levels which I doubt if anyone can ever be sure of accurately gauging, it is probably sensible to limit exposure levels to the bare minimum, pardon the pun, rather than emphasising that only a fool would believe that sunshine,(or smoking),would guarantee cancer.

Only a fool would recommend excessive exposure to sunlight, but again, what's excessive?

Comparing it would be difficult, but I would suggest that a sensible exposure to cigarettes is almost impossible to quantify.

1 pack of 20 a week equal to how much sun? Don't forget that the tars etc are being applied to the most delicate tissues in the body. TBH, I marvel that people who smoke a pack a day aren't dead in a year. It's a testament to the body's defenses.

Perthbum
Total Posts: 98 (28.08 posts per day)

Well with so many posts per day at least YOU don't need to worry about exposure to the sun, you are far too busy on your computer to even see daylight!

I'm just getting the image of a gollum like creature, hunched over the computer screen, typing frantically....

What you doing in old man, get out in the sun and enjoy whats left of your life, we are on this earth only a short time

p.s slap on that suncream mate, you know the dangers now even the lightest suntan is evidence of skin damage.
While a tan protects slightly against UV rays, if the damaged skin cells can't repair themselves, they can become cancerous.