Change Takes A Long Time

 Malcolm Gladwell spoke at the University of Pennsylvania about coal mining and black lung disease along with football and CTE.  The title of Gladwell's talk was about the "Burden of Proof.  It is part of his podcast Revisionist History.

Black lung disease is CWP or Coal Worker's pneumoconiosis which come from repeated long term exposure to coal dust and is similar to the long term effects of smoking tobacco.  

 "Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. In CTE, a protein called Tau forms clumps that slowly spread throughout the brain, killing brain cells.Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. In CTE, a protein called Tau forms clumps that slowly spread throughout the brain, killing brain cells."

Both CWP and CTE are dangerous work related illnesses. It took a long time for people to recognize and accept the facts that Black Lung Disease greatly shortened the life expectancy and was caused by coal dust.  CTE and concussions were studied from 1997 and various studies are continuing and ongoing.  Just because not all coal miners and football players die from CWP and CTE does not mean there is no proof coal mining and football are not hazardous to your health.

The Industrial Revolution was based on the use of coal.  It heated homes, generated electricity, and was used in the making of steel.  Football is the national pastime in the United States.

Both coal and football generate institutional push back when the questions circle back to public health issues.  Why some stuff changes faster than other things can be mysterious or sometimes it is just human beings being beings.