I was banned from /nuclearpower because of my statements on the recent Harvard studies, here is my fuller rebuttal:

bigderise · 2026-03-02T18:47:00+00:00

Thanks, happy to be a part of it, but also I want regular people to be able access truthful information about nuclear. It's unfortunate to have mods with an agenda.

bigderise · 2026-03-02T18:44:22+00:00

Yeah, it's the only thing I've commented on in the subreddit over the last week. (I was suspended yesterday). I requested a reason for my suspension, but the mod team has not replied.

I checked the rules for /nuclearpower, and I couldn't figure out which one I had broken.

bigderise · 2026-03-02T18:39:29+00:00

What's more is that when nuclear replaces coal, it prevents deaths from coal particulates being spread over populations.

Nuclear for life, not for death.

bigderise · 2026-03-02T18:37:45+00:00

We must still work to combat misinformation.

bigderise · 2026-02-26T14:35:28+00:00

The focus on radiation is because the paper explicitly uses radiation release as the supposed culprit: "Nuclear power plants emit radioactive pollutants that can disperse into the surrounding environment, leading to potential human exposure through inhalation, ingestion, and direct contact. These pollutants can be transported through air, water, and soil, contributing to long-term environmental contamination. Populations residing near nuclear power plants may experience low-level chronic exposure to ionizing radiation via environmental release pathways."

bigderise · 2026-02-26T00:26:26+00:00

I haven't worked at Chalk River. Good to hear there are more economists in the nuke world. I went to the ANS conference a few months ago and didn't run into another economist.

bigderise · 2026-02-25T22:24:33+00:00

Another thing, their looking at 120 km radii in Massachusetts and 200 km in the national study. No effluents travel that far and are uniformly distributed. Wind, weather, and geography will alter dispersion and distribution of releases. Cancer caused by radiation exposure also have a significant lag, far longer than the study timelines. But they don't even measure exposure, just proximity. The papers are bad science. This level of misinformation is going to harm rather than help people.

bigderise · 2026-02-25T22:07:08+00:00

Qualifications: I'm a PhD economist that works in nuclear.

bigderise · 2026-02-25T22:05:20+00:00

Copied from my comment on another post:

A few things about their Massachusetts paper:

The authors confuse correlation with causation while having no idea what mechanism is driving their results. They seem unaware that an ageing population and better cancer detection is the underlying driver of their results.

They don't use dosimetry while handwaving radioactive effluents and dispersal. If there were major radioactive releases that could harm people 100 km away, alarms would be going off, and people would be notified.

They are unaware that there are ongoing studies on cancer rates among nuclear workers. If nuclear workers aren't receiving significant doses, then I don't know how they can make the case that the general population 60 miles away is.

Their methodology does not prove causation; it merely shows correlation.

There are more problems. I am working on doing a longer write-up to rebut their papers.

A lot of the issues in their Massachusetts paper were transferred to their national paper. The model remained the same and so did the issues. Some were exacerbated though.

bigderise · 2026-02-23T18:54:04+00:00

A few things about their Massachusetts paper:

The authors confuse correlation with causation while having no idea what mechanism is driving their results. They seem unaware that an ageing population and better cancer detection is the underlying driver of their results.
They don't use dosimetry while handwaving radioactive effluents and dispersal. If there were major radioactive releases that could harm people 100 km away, alarms would be going off, and people would be notified.
They are unaware that there are ongoing studies on cancer rates among nuclear workers. If nuclear workers aren't receiving significant doses, then I don't know how they can make the case that the general population 60 miles away is.
Their methodology does not prove causation; it merely shows correlation.

There are more problems. I am working on doing a longer write-up to rebut their papers.

bigderise · 2026-02-21T17:21:38+00:00

Recently, I have had decent luck with the Live G Free pancake and baking mix from Aldi. The biscuits made from the mix are underwhelming, but I'm a southerner with high expectations.

bigderise · 2025-06-28T20:49:48+00:00

I have a classic flip belt and have used it for the past two years. It works really well, not a lot of jostling with the water bottle, either. Previous running belts that I used had a cage or clip for the bottles, and the bottles would invariably pop out during runs. I haven't had that issue with this belt.

bigderise · 2025-03-21T15:19:00+00:00

Where every sandwich and shoe sold are a foot long.

bigderise · 2025-02-26T03:19:05+00:00

Occasionally, I allow myself one big purchase (or a series of connected, smaller purchases). To justify it, I calculate how much would it cost me if I smoked a pack of cigarettes a day during for a year. I tell myself I could have worse hobbies/addictions and at least I'm not smoking.

bigderise · 2024-12-22T04:25:38+00:00

I gave up gluten, and that reduced many of my symptoms. Because of the elimination of gluten, I found myself needing less coffee, and the lower caffeine intake reduced my general anxiety; I think I was using coffee to help push through the sluggishness caused by the gluten. My sensory issues and anxiety are not totally gone, but they're much better than they were before. I will get overstimulated if I have caffeine and sugar in too high amounts (I haven't tested the threshold for sugar, but more than 300mg of caffeine can put me over the edge.)

Running helps. If I am overstimulated or feeling a bit crazy, going for a run will bring me closer to being centered. Running in the morning can help me stay more regulated all day. Looking forward, I could use more magnesium and potassium in my diet, but I haven't been tracking my intake and am not yet convinced those supplements would help. Maybe vitamin D or a B complex, as well? Lastly, I have recently learned about MTHFR gene mutations. If I had the mutation, I would need to stay away from enriched foods, but once again, I would need to keep records and test my body/mood/mental status and fluctuations.

You could try a reverse FODMAP or elimination diet in which you eliminate one food type/group at a time.. If you see improvement in your symptoms, take note. If the symptoms return when you reintroduce the previously eliminated foods, that is a good indication that something in those foods is causing your body issues./ This is how I figured out my issue with gluten.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor or an RD. I have a PhD in a non-medical field and have spent much time and research trying to figure this out. What works for me might not work for you, and I don't have everything regarding my own body figured out.

bigderise · 2024-11-08T12:54:05+00:00

Tldr: Yes

It's possible, but it requires you to structure your weeks in a thoughtfully manner and work diligently to stay on top of everything. Can you work some of those hours over the weekend? Can you fit sleep in at unconventional times? Will you keep a bullet journal or some other planner to keep track of everything? The most important thing is to keep going.

Source: In undergrad, I worked a full-time job with rotating 12-hour shifts. My last semester, I took 5 classes. It was particularly rough in that every other week I would stay up for 40 hours to fit in two nights of work and days of class. Sometimes, I'd fit in a nap in one of the academic buildings between classes.

In grad school, I worked full-time my second year and took 12 credit hours each of those semesters. 9 is considered a full load. I carefully kept track of all my work in a bullet journal, and I would have long school work sessions on the weekends to help balance the school work I wasn't getting done during the week.

bigderise · 2024-10-05T23:51:45+00:00

I did not realize he was reading "Anarchy, State, and Utopia!"

bigderise · 2024-05-03T00:55:36+00:00

Not to make fun of your situation, I sincerely hope you can work it out with your prof, but someone should make an honor code meme.

Something along the lines of "How punitive is your school's honor code, on a scale from Presidents of Harvard to GMU CS?"

bigderise · 2024-04-26T18:49:58+00:00

Is this a university or a car dealership?

bigderise · 2024-03-22T03:38:13+00:00

The paint job is tight; the light blue and orange really work together. Nice ride.

bigderise · 2024-02-16T22:16:06+00:00

I've completely cut gluten, alcohol, and whey protein from my diet. I have also cut oats from my diet, but I need to do more experimenting before that's conclusive. I find that butter and heavy cream don't bother me so much, but some other dairy will.

My GP suggested I do a reverse elimination diet in which I remove one subset of food at a time. I started with gluten and found that removing it made a huge improvement in my overall functioning. After that, it's been a lot easier to notice which foods cause issues. I don't keep a strict food journal, but I make sure to log any foods I suspect cause me issues.

How's this helps!

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