Five second rule

Kramodlog · Mar 19, 2014

Zander · Mar 20, 2014

Homicidal_Squirrel said:
If we follow that logic, no one should ever take any medicine prescribed to them.

goldomark said:
Or vaccins or driving.

Unless you're starving to death or find yourself in the very unusual situation of having to eat a particular food (or food type) or die e.g. severe hypoglycaemia, the benefit from eating food that has fallen on the floor isn't worth the risk. In contrast, the benefit of taking medicines or having vaccines outweighs the risk. In the case of driving, it depends why, where, when, what and how safely you're driving.

Jet Shield said:
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/five-second-rule-minimyth.htm

Thank you, Jet Shield. That essentially confirms what I've been saying all along, that the 5 second rule is a myth.

Homicidal_Squirrel · Mar 20, 2014

Zander said:
Unless you're starving to death or find yourself in the very unusual situation of having to eat a particular food (or food type) or die e.g. severe hypoglycaemia, the benefit from eating food that has fallen on the floor isn't worth the risk. In contrast, the benefit of taking medicines or having vaccines outweighs the risk. In the case of driving, it depends why, where, when, what and how safely you're driving.

That may work for driving, but medicine is still a problem. How many people pop a motrin, or some other pain med, when they have a headache or some other pain? There is a chance you could die, as small as it may be. What about antibiotics? You may have an allergic reaction that could take you out. Sure, you could wait out the headache, or the illness, and you'll probably be fine, but does the risk of dying from a bad reaction from one of these drugs stop you from taking them? Should it? Why?

Kramodlog · Mar 20, 2014

Zander said:
Unless you're starving to death or find yourself in the very unusual situation of having to eat a particular food (or food type) or die e.g. severe hypoglycaemia, the benefit from eating food that has fallen on the floor isn't worth the risk. In contrast, the benefit of taking medicines or having vaccines outweighs the risk. In the case of driving, it depends why, where, when, what and how safely you're driving.

Youdo know there are bacteries in food even if they haven't fallen on the floor, right?

Zander · Mar 20, 2014

Homicidal_Squirrel said:
That may work for driving, but medicine is still a problem. How many people pop a motrin, or some other pain med, when they have a headache or some other pain? There is a chance you could die, as small as it may be. What about antibiotics? You may have an allergic reaction that could take you out. Sure, you could wait out the headache, or the illness, and you'll probably be fine, but does the risk of dying from a bad reaction from one of these drugs stop you from taking them? Should it? Why?

You're making an apples and oranges comparison. Eating food that has fallen on the floor has some risk and no benefits (unless you're in one of the situations described in my previous post). Taking medication has some risk and some benefits.

An apples and apples comparison would be eating food that has fallen on the floor which has some risk and no benefits compared to taking medication which has some risk and no benefits (because you don't have the condition the medication treats or the medication has been shown to be ineffective). I certainly wouldn't advocate taking medication when there is nothing wrong with you (or likely to be wrong with you in the future in the case of a prophylaxis). It has a risk with no benefits.

Homicidal_Squirrel · Mar 20, 2014

Zander said:
You're making an apples and oranges comparison. Eating food that has fallen on the floor has some risk and no benefits (unless you're in one of the situations described in my previous post). Taking medication has some risk and some benefits.

An apples and apples comparison would be eating food that has fallen on the floor which has some risk and no benefits compared to taking medication which has some risk and no benefits (because you don't have the condition the medication treats or the medication has been shown to be innefective). I certainly wouldn't advocate taking medication when there is nothing wrong with you (or likely to be wrong with you in the future in the case of a prophylaxis). It has a risk with no benefits.

That's incorrect. Eating food has benefits, regardless of having fallen on the floor or not. Eating food supplies you with nutrition needed to live. Dropping an apple on the floor does not magically negate the nutritional value of that apple.

Mustrum_Ridcully · Mar 20, 2014

Zander said:
You're making an apples and oranges comparison. Eating food that has fallen on the floor has some risk and no benefits (unless you're in one of the situations described in my previous post). Taking medication has some risk and some benefits.

It also has the benefits of convenience - instead of having to make new food or get supplies to make the food and then make the food, I can just eat what just dropped.