
Temperature and Temperament: Evidence from a Billion Tweets [pdf] - luu
http://ei.haas.berkeley.edu/research/papers/WP265.pdf
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xlayn
This makes sense from the perspective of "spending energy" vs "collecting
energy" as probably coded in our systems. Assume in winter when it's more
difficult to harvest food you want to keep your energy spending low and in
summer when there is more food you can afford to spend more because you can
spend more. Some rationale behind this statement could come from example from
Gwern and how the immunologic system handles a cold:

"For example, in winter, we are cautious about deploying our immune resources.
That’s why a cold lasts much longer in winter than it does in summer. It’s not
because we’re cold, it’s because our bodies, based on deep evolutionary
history reckon that it’s not so safe to use our immune resources in winter, as
it would be in summer. There’s experimental confirmation of this in animals.
Suppose a hamster is injected with bacteria which makes it sick - but in one
case the hamster is on an artificial day/night cycle that suggests it’s
summer; in the other case it’s on a cycle that suggests it’s winter. If the
hamster is tricked into thinking it’s summer, it throws everything it has got
against the infection and recovers completely. If it thinks it’s winter then
it just mounts a holding operation, as if it’s waiting until it knows it’s
safe to mount a full-scale response" from:
[http://www.gwern.net/Drug%20heuristics](http://www.gwern.net/Drug%20heuristics)

edit:typos

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wesleytodd
Having lived in both Michigan and Texas, humidity is the largest factor in
high-temperature enjoyment. In high-humidity, anything over 75F is difficult.
But in Texas where the humidity is lower I can easily enjoy >85F.

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cafard
Indeed. Running in Colorado sunlight at 90F is not bad. Running in Maryland
shade at 90F is uncomfortable and could be dangerous.

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mixologic
That tweet density map on page 42.
[https://xkcd.com/1138/](https://xkcd.com/1138/)

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jsramek
Did the author just conclude that most people don't enjoy summer (defined as
above 70F/21C, not some extreme 95F/35C craziness).

(Common sense, anyone?)

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drgath
Many scientific studies confirm common sense. It's the process of turning
assumptions into fact.

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hugozap
Link didn't work

