site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1605 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 24, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

How old do you think were when the transition from your parents worrying about your health to you worrying about their health happened?

I'd say late 20s for me, not very long back really. They're in their 60s now. I suppose it's confounded by the fact we're all doctors, and I have a (small) degree of confidence that they can look after themselves and vice versa. Still have to yell at my dad to get his heart checked, and my mom to up her semaglutide dose, but they need to check in on me too so it all cancels out.

I, uh, don't worry about my parents' health much. There's nothing I can do about it. They're both incredibly stubborn people who will (not) take care of themselves, bonus points for the stepmom.

I will say that I wasn't ready for the moment I felt compelled to protect my father (a big, imposing Marine veteran) in a physical altercation. He ran his mouth and picked a bar fight he couldn't win, the other guy fought dirty, and in a flash I went from being as annoyed with his drunken bullshit as everyone else in the bar to being willing to fuck that guy up or get my ass kicked trying if he wouldn't take my offer of "this is over; we're leaving". I was...32?

Funny enough, I must've made an impression (I can't fight for shit but I'm crazy and loud, inherited that from mom's side.) because that incident took on a fishing story-like life of its own where I allegedly brandished a chair in my father's defense.

I don’t know that my parents have worried about my health since I was a small child. Not in any active way that I was made aware of. My worry about my parents health is abstract. Yes they’re getting older. My father is definitely in worse shape these past few years. It is what it is.

It was my late thirties when this became a Thing for me. Dad was in his early seventies and starting to exhibit signs of cognitive decline, and mom started exhibiting signs of her own several more years down the road.

Ouch. I'm sorry man, that's the worst, because there's very little you can do about it once it kicks in. One of the many reasons I tell my parents to start or continue semaglutide is the immediate cardiovascular benefit, which translates to drastically reduced dementia risk. I'm guessing this comes too late for you, and if so, my condolences.

It does indeed, for the both of them, and I appreciate your well wishes. The scary part is that my family had no previous history of dementia or Alzheimer's, so now I'm pretty freaked out about my own chances. That said, dad did have bad sleep apnea, and taking care of a spouse with dementia makes for a massive risk of dementia in its own right, though watching them both go through it one after the other has definitely increased my receptivity to the brain infection hypothesis...

Were any of them ever screened for the genetic markers for it? There are well known risk factors associated within different variants of the APOE gene. Other forms have different associated vectors, but this is something that’s caused a little bit of worry even with me when I got to thinking about it one day. My genetic tests are all clear, I’m not a carrier for the genetic determinants, but it makes you wonder.

No, neither of them ever were. Ironically, my wife's maternal side of the family has a history of Alzheimer's, but thus far her mother's siblings seem to be dodging the proverbial bullet.

I mean, AFAIK the infectivity thing is mostly for neurosurgeons? People who are actively at risk of inhaling potential abnormal proteins.

And Alzheimer's, in particular, is quite common even without a family history. If you have the option, I would strongly advise starting on a GLP-1 drugs. It's too late when the AD has already set in, but I'm not sure if it makes a difference during the mild cognitive impairment stage, and you're better off starting early. Might be worth getting screened for APOE-4 allele if budget allows, that's a massive risk. 50% of AD cases or more have at least one of them.

It's still a relatively understudied potential cause/risk factor, due mainly to a preoccupation with the amyloid tangles and plaques in the brain, but it's gaining momentum and mainstream interest, especially as said focus has yet to produce effective treatment.

Oh, different thing than I was envisioning. I was talking about the elevated risk of neurodegenerative disorders in neurosurgeons. I mean, I doubt it's all easily condensed down to a single factor, but we quite recently found out that gum infection is linked to cardiac disease too. So I suppose I'm going to keep my eyes peeled and brush my teeth better.

It's been a fascinating rabbit hole for me personally, both because I am well aware that Science™ advances one funeral at a time, and so had been looking at alternative hypotheses for Alz/dementia, and also because out of the blue my dental hygienist started discussing the topic on her own as she had recently gotten the infodump hereself.

I sometimes wish I was a dentist (not pretty enough to be a hygienist, but I could do with a harem). Mostly for the captive audience for my lectures.

I suppose 10? But none of us has ever been terribly worried about one another's health, other than everyone else about my brother's mental health.

I don't know if there was ever really a transition. It's been something that I've had to consider my entire life.

For anyone out there who has a drinking problem, seek help. If you have kids, do it sooner, rather than later.

Somewhere in my 30s. Let's say around the pandemic. Before that there was a period when we didn't worry about our respective health, at least openly.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats