I used to very politely say that if there is free will then it's in all sorts of boring places, like whether you're going to pick up this or that fork as you begin your meal. There really is none: It's all biology.
Robert SapolskyRead
Low socioeconomic status carries with it an enormously increased risk of a broad range of diseases, and this gradient cannot be fully explained by factors such as health-care access.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Low socioeconomic status is linked to a higher risk of numerous diseases, and this is not solely due to lack of healthcare access.
This quote by Robert Sapolsky highlights the complex relationship between socioeconomic status and health. It suggests that individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face a disproportionate risk of various diseases, and this issue extends beyond just access to healthcare, indicating that underlying societal and environmental factors also play a crucial role in health disparities.
Themes
SocioeconomicHealthDiseaseDisparitiesRisk
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a public health presentation to highlight the importance of addressing social determinants of health.
More from Robert Sapolsky
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My adolescent rebellions took the form of, if anything, passive aggressively doing what was asked of me but doing it ten times more than what was asked of me, so that eventually they'd have to beg me to stop.
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When humans invented material inequality, they came up with a way of subjugating the low-ranking like nothing ever seen before in the primate world.
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Yes, genes are important for understanding our behavior. Incredibly important - after all, they code for every protein pertinent to brain function, endocrinology, etc., etc. But the regulation of genes is often more interesting than the genes themselves, and it's the environment that regulates genes.
Robert SapolskyRead
I expected social rank to be the determining factor in health, and in some ways that's true. But far more important is what sort of society that rank occurs in. Being low ranking in a benevolent troop is a hell of a lot better for your blood pressure than being low ranking in an aggressive troop.
Robert SapolskyRead
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