The End of Masculinity Has Been Somewhat Exaggerated
Vložit
- čas přidán 5. 07. 2024
- 🌎 Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➡️ NordVPN.com/sabine It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee!
Are testosterone levels in men really falling? If so, what might be the causes? And is it something to worry about. We have looked at what the literature says and summarize it for you.
💌 Sign up for my weekly science newsletter. It's free! ➜ sabinehossenfelder.com/newsle...
👉 Support me on Patreon ➜ / sabine
📖 My new book "Existential Physics" is now on sale ➜ existentialphysics.com/
🔗 Join this channel to get access to perks ➜
/ @sabinehossenfelder
Data for the rise in testosterone supplement sales are here
www.mja.com.au/system/files/i...
FDA advice on the use of testosterone supplements is here:
www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety...
The paper about how testosterone levels change during the day is this:
academic.oup.com/jcem/article...
The paper about lower testosterone level in married men is here:
www.sciencedirect.com/science...
The paper about testosterone levels falling when holding an infant is this:
www.sciencedirect.com/science...
The meta-analysis about male testosterone levels is here:
journals.plos.org/plosone/art...
The 2007 paper about the decline of testosterone levels in Boston is here:
academic.oup.com/jcem/article...
The 2013 study about the decline of testosterone levels in Finnish men is this:
eje.bioscientifica.com/view/j...
The 2016 paper about the decline of grip strength is here:
www.jhandtherapy.org/article/...
The 2013 paper about children running slower is this:
www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/1...
The paper about the impact of a high-protein diet on testosterone is here:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1...
The paper about the two-way causation between obesity and decline in testosterone levels is here:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
The 2015 meta-analysis about the link between testosterone levels in men and smoking is here:
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retri...
00:00 Intro
00:28 The Worry
02:43 How Much Testosterone Is Normal?
06:03 Are Testosterone Levels Really Falling?
09:06 Possible Causes
11:45 Should We Worry About It?
12:53 Protect Yourself from Cyber Threats
Many thanks to Jordi Busqué for helping with this video jordibusque.com/ - Věda a technologie
I feel like no matter what the problem is, overexposing extremely sensitive glands to UV light can't possibly be the solution.
No, no it really helps. Governments used it for better thinking, now look at how great their decisions are!
Hey, I'm all for nude beaches!
@@artistbervucci1716 Problem is they used it on other people and not themselves.
Seems like a way to grow a melanoma in a really awkward place.
Except if the problem is Tucker Carlson. Overexposure should sterilise the environment.
this is actually a statistical error caused by me. I drag down the average so much that I shouldn't be counted.
Don't tell me, you're Swedish 🤯
The Dude
Wtf you have negative testosterone level?
The outliar :D
@@KerbalFacile is that a pun or a misspelling?
Ok, here's what I learned:
I'm gonna double the smoking, eat only potatoes, and never ever touch a small child or get married.
Thanks, Sabine! (=
Red meat too. And some Tren.
This sounds like a suicide method
@@wongwong1517 But I'll die like a man! xD
@@jamegumb7298 Meat is only good for testosterone levels if it has that thick layer of fat. Because testosterone is literally made from cholesterol. Your body literally uses oils and fats to produce testosterone and all other steroid hormones. However... Your glands decide when and why to produce testosterone and the only way to make them produce more is to work out, do physical activities while eating fat-rich foods that's how you increase testosterone.
In some ways... Testosterone is a way to prepare you for fighting... Why would a father need to fight as much as some single bastard looking for hook ups? Of course the single bastard will have more testosterone in order to compete with other men and also younger people such as 19 year olds have the highest testosterone levels.
I've only watched a handful of Sabine"s videos. What a cool channel 🙂 Scientifically informative, and technical without being 'dry' or boring and so well presented with a sprinkle of dead-pan faced humour . I'll certainly keep watching.
If Tucker Carlson has become the representative of masculinity, it officially ended a long time ago.
I miss his cute little bow tie! Tucker Carlson & Pee Wee Herman should make "on the road" movies together like Bob Hope & Bing Crosby. Those adorable lil scamps!
Tucker Carlson is masculine???
"I dislike someone's opinions but i'm not intelligent or educated enough to disprove them so i must attack his personality, that definitely will do" - every dumb person ever
@@elyeryan8838 Since you don't appreciate wit, the point is that masculinity is, apparently, a subjective ideal.
@@user-kb8qw7dy4t And you're the kettle calling the pot black... smh
"How do I explain this to my mom?" I lost it. Sabine, you are a treasure.
When I saw the title for this episode, my heart leaped with joy as I knew her asides would be memorable. And I was not disappointed.
SIMP 🤡
I guess her father is non entity for her.
@@ZoneofA Maybe he is deceased.
I’m probably older than her Mother and I am not an idiot who is so naive that you would not be able to discuss it in my prescence. Ageist talk is as bad as racism and mysogyny. If you live long enough you will have to endure it yourself eventually. It is the only “ism” that seems to be ok with the younger generations. I explain stuff to my middle aged kids - not the other way around. My children are brilliant and so am I at 78.
Sabine ranting on about balls and the scrotum has made my day here in Australia.
A country that needs a laugh
Why? Australia has one of the best weathers in the world and is rarely affected by any economic crisis. Yet only thing the white people seem to complain about is the weather.
@@SSchithFoo Have You been living under a rock over the past 3 years?
The past few years have been one thing after the other :(
At least we aren't the United States.
@@aarondavis8943 You should send a written apology to Washington ASAP Mr Davis
For those who are checking their own testosterone results, note that nmol/L is quite different than the usual units of reporting in the US in ng/dL. The Kaiser system lab reports a normal for total testosterone as >=240 ng/dL. Also note that testosterone is bound to both human serum albumin (HSA) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG, also known as testosterone binding globulin) so measuring free testosterone might be more indicative of the active levels. Also note that the target organs have specific receptors and genetic variation might play a role is determining the effect of any given level in a particular person.
I had low energy and erectile dysfunction a couple of years ago. My T was 617 ng/dl, which is fine. But my Vitamin D 25-hydroxy was low (26.7) and most importantly I was addicted to porn and video games.
After getting sunlight and quitting those dopamine addictions, I'm in the best mental health of my life -- I feel happy/mellow but still have energy when needed. Watch that dopamine "junk food" guys, it messes up everything in your life. I also intermittent fast.
a blood test for testosterone does not only show free test, luckily. I think you are underestimating just how much levels fluctuate throughout the day, friend. as Sabine said, they're highest in the a.m., & that's when they'll draw.
"normal" levels vary from state to state, nvm country to country. you're ok, guys. be cool
Thank you David!! In the USA it is next to impossible to find an endocrinologist with more than just a tiny passing knowledge of "sex" hormones because here only medicine that makes money gets attention and so everyone is an expert in diabetes endo. and nothing else. I'm an intersex man born without testicles and so I've needed to inject it since I was a teenager. I'm now 65yrs. I have a LOT of intersex friends who were force assigned "male" who have partial androgen insensitivity syndrome which means they are XY but not male and can't utilize testosterone. Each one does and doesn't do it differently and all of them find it a whole lot easier to live/pass as women than men because their bodies easily do female but refuse to develop secondary male characteristics. They can't grow beards, body hair, have female fat distribution and skin, penis the size of a big clitoris and most importantly very female breasts. Well with today's knowledge that's all getting better right? Wrong. Why? Religious devotion to pseudoscience and being refused access to knowledgeable physicians. ARGH! Your little explanation of this simple testosterone thing was a breathe of fresh air.
@@Middlesex1957I don’t know if you’re advocating for androgen or estrogen therapy in transgender or purely standing in your own experience re intersex. I understand and agree with your points to a degree but not if that extends to transgender today. That’s a whole different issue. Thanks
I'd love to see a breakdown by sedentary and non-sedentary lifestyles, a breakdown by income per capita, a breakdown by exposure to physical violence, and by a couple other factors. That could bring lots of insights.
Is it weird that I want wearable bio-monitors to become a defacto norm in the near future? Obviously there would be huge privacy concerns and it would be abused by insurance companies (and others) but... _The Science!_
That's quite obvious.
@@slicedtoad Let's get all the scientists responsibly collecting and interpreting the small data that we currently have first before we go multiplying that current problem with even more data to read incorrectly. 🤣🤣🤣
@@slicedtoad Not "The Science" but "The Spurious Correlation".
@@mikebaker2436 The problem with the data we currently have is that it's statistically meaningless most of the time. If you put accurate error bars on basically any nutritional, weight, general health, etc studies, the study falls so far below what I consider useful that you may as well ignore the results.
The only way to get large sample sizes is to do a survey. Surveys are, at best, useful for indicating which future study to run. But you can't run a proper study on, say obesity, with thousands of people and control for most variables without infinite money. So, you default to self-reporting.
If people could submit their lab results basically for free (I'm aware of how much I'm jumping the gun technologically), then the most expensive part of the study is no longer expensive.
Early morning classes should be illegal. Well said 👏🏿😩
This is such a thing in med school! Not so much in computer science.
So, really, in which field are the students smarter?
I remember in my community college days I used to enjoy walking down the long, empty and thus turning on all the motion sensing lights for the first time that morning. (I had to get there earlier than most because the first buses arrived at x:15 and my classes started at (x+1):00
It was aesthetic as fuck, though it might not have been healthy in hindsight.
When I was in university all the heavy math and physics courses were first thing in the morning. Labs were mid-morning, sometimes stretching into the afternoon. Afternoons after 2 PM were thinly booked.
At my University the natural sciences were at the edge of the city. Thus they shifted all classes by one hour to allow students traveling back and forth. Great thing for us: most of our classes started at 9:00 instead of 8:00 in the humanities.
My body skipped them quite a number of times. Sigh, insomnia…
My doctor reluctantly tested me for Low-T. Protocol requires a blood test at exactly 8 a.m. on different days. My levels were consistently 60% below the mimimum level generally considered safe. She prescribed testosterone gel. (There is no pill form of testosterone. Also, it's a Schedule III controlled medication in the USA.) It took 3 months to reach "safe, normal" levels. It made a significant positive impact on my life. I feel better, lost 54 pounds, sleep through the night and more. There are drawbacks. So due diligence is important!
Thanks for sharing. What are the drawbacks though, if you don't mind me asking.
@@yuriajones Yuri, The drawbacks I've experienced are: (1) The testosterone gel costs me $135 per month after insurance has paid $365; (2) In my case I'm losing the hair on my my head (however, I'm the first person in my family to have hair on their chest!); It's a Schedule III Controlled substance in the USA. Ask your pharmacist to explain why; (3) As far as I know there is no pill form of testosterone -- just gels and daily, at home self injections; (4) Some men feel embarrassed by having testosterone replacement therapy. If I think of anything else I'll edit this post. Good luck!
@@douglaswilkinson5700 thanks for that. I appreciate you taking the time to elaborate 🙏
Thank you for sharing.
First off, I would not be going to a female doctor to get my T dealt with. I want an adamant proponent of T, not a begrudging participant.
Sabine I can't explain how I never found someone I can point to and say 'that, I want to be that when I grow up' until I found you. I'm in my thirties but better late then never
Seven years ago my family doctor wanted to give me testosterone supplement. I said let’s wait a year since I’m already taking level thyroxine for hypothyroidism.
When I asked a year later, he said we shouldn’t do it because it can cause a heart attack.
So be careful about testosterone supplements.
So, the first advice is wrong, but the second advice is right because it sounds scarier? If so, that's not good criteria for making a decision from a doctor's advice.
There is no more challenging endocrinology than sex hormone supplementation
Family doctors/GPs are the lowest educated doctors in the field.
@@superfluityme the criteria is having actual symptoms related to the lack of said hormones that can't be explained by behavior, food, etc.
The risk isn't limited to heart attacks. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in men, and precancerous lesions of the prostate are common from middle age onward. Prostate cancer is one of the hormone-sensitive cancers, so testosterone supplementation in older men is likely to come with similar risks to estrogen supplementation in older women.
Small balls as a side effect, true. But also smaller ball tanning machine needed, so energy savings balance it out! I luv balance!
😂
I see you're a glass half-full kinda guy; or maybe it's scrotum half-full in this case.
@@mikel5582 My sack is a desert of unfulfilled dreams.
Inventors are working on a portable unit that will fit inside our clothes. N.B.: portability does not imply discreetness.
Thank you for being able to make some light-hearted jabs while still researching and explaining the topic at hand very well! It's ridiculous that some people mock the conversation and just dismiss it off hand. You're right that there needs to be more research to the various causes though of course. Bye!
A few years ago I read an article about how girls have been experiencing their first period at a younger age compared to previous generations. And one of the possible culprits mentioned is our much longer exposure to light during our waking hours since the dawn of the light bulb. This prolonged exposure has affected our circadian rhythm in ways that we don't yet fully understand.
Could this factor also influence the aforementioned decrease in men's testosterone levels?
I thought that was due to hormones in cow milk.
Microplastics have been found to negatively affect testosterone levels as well. I may have heard we ingest microplastics all the time, so this is likely more difficult to change.
From this one can conclude that all those 4 Chan, oil burning alpha males are actually furthering their own extinction...
A very good point.
Yes, but enough to explain the gap?
@@the11382 When talking about something affecting billions of people, its almost guaranteed there will be multiple causes
Microplastics are turning the younger generation into drag queens.
I appreciate the candor in the Finnish graph showing T levels by age cohort. It explicitly points out that the y-axis is truncated. If only the news media and others using x-y plots were so honest.
Sabina - it was great ! Always watching your video! Never was disappointed. I am 68 and still have great interest how world develops! Your presentation is short, replete with facts and proofs. Thank you for your great work!
It is disease called wisdom
@@AndriiMuliar Are you "flat Earth" and "anty- Lizard"fun? Supporting Trump? What are you doing here with regular, smart people? You have your islands..........
One of the possible explanations given by Sabine (at 10:00) is the increase in obesity. It would be interesting to know how fit men of different generations compare.
Actually would be really interesting to see.
That definitely factors in.
Asians are pretty slender.
Low Ts are called sampo generation in s. korea, hervibore men or hikkikomori in japan, and lay low generation and let it rot generation in china.
Well considering that in the history pretty much only kings had enough food to be obese... and that didn't change that much until like year 1900, when processed food slowly started.
People have been fat and obese since the 1990s and early 2000s, but fertility levels both for men and women have declines more rapidly especially in the past 10 years.
I love that you're branching out and giving other topics your no nonsense gaze!
bro: keep it on brand. "No gobbledygook gaze"
no nonsense gaze=Very serious homosexuals
@@DrDeuteron 👆
Simp
Simp
A very weak ending to this video. That question "should we worry about it" is very prevalent to men's mental and physical health; and if it is the case that our modern environment affects our testosterone levels, and therefore our physical and mental health, it is a worthwhile question that needs more explanation than "our world is changing and we are changing with it."
This video alone was enough to get me sold to this channel. Loved the way you approached the topic with plenty of witty sense of humor that was both smooth and informative and a very unbiased and objective data analysis. Subbed!
So unbiased that they include mocking images of only right-leaning people? So unbiased that even when left-leaning people contradict themselves, it is portrayed as profound and inspiring?
so if I get married, drink a juice box, in an apartment building, smoke ten cigarettes, in lilac pajamas, pick up a baby and a baby doll, at night, in the autumn, my hair will grow back? Brilliant. *closes video at **5:30** and learns completely the wrong lesson*
Low testosterone promotes hair growth also doing half of that has no effect on our hair
I fell asleep on the beach and one fell out of my shorts a bit. It got a bad sunburn. I don’t recommend drinking and sleeping on the beach.
I say this with no snark whatsoever...you are an absolute delight, Dr. Hossenfelder. And your new book is very good, too. Kudos to you. 👏👏👏😀
Sabine is such a champion! Such class.
@@michaelmccoy1794 SIMP 🤡
I am sitting here torn between really wanting to see another excellent video from the marvelous Lady Hossenfelder, but dreading the hives that Tucker's fire hose of disinformation delivered in that Wolverine's claws-on-a-blackboard screechy whine gives me.
Sigh. I know I have to watch. I am sure this will be epic with her sharp dry sense of humor. Wish me luck.
Thank goodness for the double-tap 10 second skip function on CZcams!
..........
Ok, made it through. Minimal Tucker exposure, I should be ok. Thank goodness I was wearing a mask while watching!
I do have a serious question, though.
In the charts showing levels for the last 100 years, it made me wonder whether the testing methodology has remained the same all this time or has it evolved into a more accurate testing method over time? In other words, would the current standard for testing the testes possibly produce different results due to advances in accuracy in the tests?
Bless you for another wonderful informative video. I enjoyed this a lot!
She's pure delightment and the best way to clear understanding
Imagine a world run by thoughtful people like Dr. Sabine!
*Swoons*
It would be sad: her followers are wondering what it would feel to be slim.
@@pepelefrog1121 with all due respect, what are you talking about?
@@trickytreyperfected1482 it is sad when a liberal leads other liberals: their lifestyle is constrained by corporations that do not have mercy on them.
@@pepelefrog1121 I'm still waiting for the part where that has anything to do with the comment. Or the video for that matter. Not some psuedo-intellectual bs that has nothing to do with what you're replying to.
@@trickytreyperfected1482 comment says it would be good for someone like the Dr. To run the world.
The doctor is a liberal.
Hence, as a conclusion it means the world would be great to be run by liberals.
Is that hard to understand, or do you have traces of arrogance and pride that clouds your logic, man?
You liberal socialists brag about reading millions of books and what not, and then aomething like this happens.
What a troubled existence.
Considering people like Tucker are some of the least masculine people out there, we should take their concepts about masculinity with a (very small) grain of salt.
Exactly, the most outspoken in the manosphere are the most whiny, sensitive group out there, they are the opposite of the type of masculinity they say is “dying”
This was the smoothest transition to the ad section ever. Because it actually made sense and contributed to understanding the original topic.
Are you sure about that?..
Agreed, smooth and well thought out.
I hate the ads part, I have to say. Your know, they call it MARKETING, but it is actually SPAM.
@@RobertHolzapfel These videos require time and money to make; someone has to pay.
Testosterone won’t help you against internet crime 😂 Best introduction to NordVPN I’ve ever heard!
If you can find them in person it will help.
I know, right?
TC stands for testicular cancer… or tucker Carlson. Both equally hazardous.
That ad segue was nicely done! I recently learned that the smooth ad transition takes a lot of creativity. Great job :)
ALSO, a lot of us BADLY need you to do a podcast. It's so hard to find a good Science Communicator who's specifically PHYSICS and
A) doesn't only talk about SPACE, and B) translates the technical for the layman!
Please do us a Podcast so I can show my partner what's so cool and amazing about physics (and that it's not just all up out there where only astronauts can get to).
My interpretation: On the average the work shifted from body strength to brain strength. Those who work on construction sites, in steel mills, with wood or any other work which requires body strength will have a higher testosterone level on the average. They should test "same job" groups.
There may be something to that, but it's odd that levels dropped continuously for so long. In rich countries, manual labor hasn't become much less common in the last few decades--but the decline in T has continued.
@@kreek22 the only recent change to strength I have noticed is that having a gym body is now a status symbol. Check out early pictures of Jeff Bezos to his current ripped body. My boss was a mudder. The executive class now tends to look like extras from a 70’s action movie. But I doubt there are enough of them to make a difference to testosterone stats.
@@kreek22 Manual labor is less common on average in rich countries.
I was laughing so hard at the man in the ball tanning machine I actually had to pause the video.
IKR, surely that'll only give them cancer, right?
I'm a guy and I never knew it existed until today. Then again, I remember I read somewhere else before that too much heat could actually harm a man's genital, accordingly lower testosterone production even further.
Always nice to see see an ironic use of Also Sprach Zarathustra since the music evokes strong Nietzschean ubermensch themes. Tanning your jimmies is the exact opposite of how the music was deployed in 2001 a Space Odyssey. 🎶😋🎶
Is that what it was? I thought it was an EV charger :)
They’re called testicles not balls.
This is a brilliant youtube video - so much to think about Thank you Sabine!
You're excellent. I'm consistently impressed by your ability to explain things. Thank you.
I remember something about plastic having an influence. Especially the chemicals used to keep plastic flexible. They make it into our food because of the packaging of food.
As someone who suffered from unusually high testosterone levels through most of my life, with symptoms like getting into lots of regrettable fights and a premature puberty, and still was riding above 800+ ng/dL in my 30s and now 40s, I'd warn against "supplementing" it. It's not a happy life.
testosterone is not related to aggression in any way. It's not your fault. This CZcamsr knows her physics, but usually makes a host of mistakes in her videos. One example: Researchers found that increases in the thyroid hormone thyroxine, not testosterone, were linked to anger. Increases in testosterone were actually associated with forgetfulness and poor concentration (4). Interestingly, many men also turn irritable when their testosterone levels fall below normal.
@@Ba-pb8ul "Abstract
Atavistic residues of aggressive behavior prevailing in animal life, determined by testosterone, remain attenuated in man and suppressed through familial and social inhibitions. However, it still manifests itself in various intensities and forms from; thoughts, anger, verbal aggressiveness, competition, dominance behavior, to physical violence. Testosterone plays a significant role in the arousal of these behavioral manifestations in the brain centers involved in aggression and on the development of the muscular system that enables their realization. There is evidence that testosterone levels are higher in individuals with aggressive behavior, such as prisoners who have committed violent crimes. Several field studies have also shown that testosterone levels increase during the aggressive phases of sports games. In more sensitive laboratory paradigms, it has been observed that participant’s testosterone rises in the winners of; competitions, dominance trials or in confrontations with factitious opponents. Aggressive behavior arises in the brain through interplay between subcortical structures in the amygdala and the hypothalamus in which emotions are born and the prefrontal cognitive centers where emotions are perceived and controlled. The action of testosterone on the brain begins in the embryonic stage. Earlier in development at the DNA level, the number of CAG repeats in the androgen receptor gene seems to play a role in the expression of aggressive behavior. Neuroimaging techniques in adult males have shown that testosterone activates the amygdala enhancing its emotional activity and its resistance to prefrontal restraining control. This effect is opposed by the action of cortisol which facilitates prefrontal area cognitive control on impulsive tendencies aroused in the subcortical structures. The degree of impulsivity is regulated by serotonin inhibiting receptors, and with the intervention of this neurotransmitter the major agents of the neuroendocrine influence on the brain process of aggression forms a triad. Testosterone activates the subcortical areas of the brain to produce aggression, while cortisol and serotonin act antagonistically with testosterone to reduce its effects." www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3693622/
@@Ba-pb8ul lol "not related in any way" okay bro
@@Ba-pb8ul "testosterone is not related to aggression in any way. It's not your fault."
Right off the bat. You're fucking wrong.
That said. I had extremely high testosterone levels as a teenager and rarely got into fights and wasn't a complete twat. That said. My aggression was pretty high. I'd still take out my frustrations on others at times but mostly myself.
Being aggressive does not necessarily mean that you're antisocial or fight all the time. Stop being a twat. Okay?
Edit: Though you are right that falling testosterone levels can cause increased levels of irritability. Note: That's NOT the same as increased levels of aggression. Ask why yourself why Steroid doping causes increased aggression levels and get back to us on that, okay?
@@Ba-pb8ul I got into fights not because I was aggressive, but because I made very impulsive and reckless choices with a lot of disregard for my own safety.
I *strongly* disagree with Sagan’s characterization of testosterone as a “poison” and honestly it comes across like a really silly, reductive and essentialist view. The idea that women posses an innate, unique sensibility to the preciousness of life is just benevolent sexism and gender essentialism. Not to mention he could benefit from material analysis. The reason countries go to war is bc of things like historical baggage, need of resources, geopolitics etc. its way more complicated that “bc my balls told me to”.
He complete ignores culture,socialization and patriarchy, to reduce it to biology alone, which is ironically very anti-feminist, and similar to what right wing misogynists like Tucker Carlson do. We absolutely need more women in government, but thats bc ppl who haven marginalized tend to have a valuable perspective, not bc of their lack of testosterone
Medically, Sagan is exactly wrong. Low testosterone makes it easy to slip into sitting on the couch all day as your health goes down the drain, kind of like a poison.
Testosterone is changing because of behavioural changes. My grandfather went through more fights in a week than I did in my entire life. I haven't had a need to fight for more than half my life now. My grandfather was still in regular fights in a very racist Britain in the 1960s when he was my age. You have to think that even how society treated so called "nerds" has changed. People used to bully them, especially in those pre-modern times when wars and small skirmishes were a lot more frequent. People would generally accept very violent forms of hazing as societal norms that make individuals stronger and more ready for war. Today, hazing is all but illegal. Our behaviours have been transformed radically through the industrial age and into the information age. We actually take note of bullying as a society, and our attitude towards violence overall has completely transformed. I think this creates an even more aggressive feedback loop than the one we see with obesity. As society tells the individual male more and more that brains are more valuable than brawn, I think the changes started neurologically, then this is carried over into the endocrine system and it will only be a matter of centuries to see genetic changes if we continue at this rate. Maybe we have started to see some already with a greater number of men going bald at a younger age. I would love to know if any correlative studies have been carried out on balding and these falling testosterone levels. Perhaps from there, we can outline a deeper understanding of how the neurological, endocrine and genetic systems interact to form a more scientific understanding of some of our social quirks.
It’s honestly hilarious watching you discuss multiverse theory with Penrose and then watching this video 😂
3:50 "man tits" is a common side-effect at many body-builders that took that in the 90's until it became banned in Denmark and elsewhere in the 'sport'.
One of the most fascinating things I heard about was a study where men were given a combination of 1) testosterone, or a placebo, and 2) being told they were given testosterone, or a harmless supplement. They then (IIRC) played a cooperative team game.
I'll have to hunt down the paper, but their results suggested that the men who _thought_ they had more testosterone became more aggressive, selfish, and antisocial. The men who _actually_ had the testosterone (but didn't know it) became more competitive, but better team players. They'd put the group's wellbeing above their own and take risks for the common good.
Just interesting to me. Also as a transgender man. People were telling me about getting angry, finding it harder to cry, blunted emotions, objectifying women etc after starting testosterone. Three years later I still cry about as easily as before, I haven't noticed any change to emotional intensity, and I don't lose my temper more than before. (I'm calmer but this is just because I'm happier.) Pleased to say I still think women are human. And my testosterone is consistently high-average for a cis male, so.
A nurse at a clinic that does hormone replacement for cis people (idk about trans people) once told me that they have lots of male patients who report feeling more calm and at ease when they take injections to raise their testosterone. There is apparently a reason that low testosterone is sometimes called the "irritable male syndrome".
@@vivianriver6450 That sounds legit, lol, I do get a little cranky when I'm due a shot. Maybe half as cranky as I used to get while PMS-ing though. (And everyone expects you to control that so... 🤷♂️)
Super weird how hormones mess with your mood.
You're not happier.You're just lying to yourself and will soon find out that no amount of testosterone can change the fact that you're mentally Ill and need to be treated as such.Not by people who are validating you in your delusion, as you likely have up until now.
Looks like someone dropped you a hateful reply and then deleted it. Don't mind that person. They need to let the adults in the room talk.
@@vivianriver6450 The comment is still there and it's not hatefull, it's the truth.
How do I explain this to my mom!!? Pure gold Sabine. You're amazing
No, mocking men or mocking the subject undermines people taking her seriously as a scientist
@@jorgechavez-salas5348 mocking men is based, shut up you whiny clown
Just go ahead and explain it, I'm sure your mom will be very interested.
@@jorgechavez-salas5348 She's talking about the reality of falling testosterone levels. As a scientist.
@@colbyboucher6391 I know what she is talking about. But she is not doing it properly.
Subbed earlier today intending on catching up on your previous videos, then this dropped, and being a 1970s guy ended up howling with laughter. Wonderful. Thanks for making my day.
"It's been in the newspapers since there've been newspapers." Holy cow, the NEWSPAPERS must be to blame!
Who owns the news papers, and why do they all have little hats on?
Post hoc ergo propter hoc - we are living the dream!
I always laugh when I see this stuff. I imagine all those manly 18th century men of the predesignated warrior social class in skin tight leggings, codpieces, flowing wigs, and high heels are laughing with me.
Well, they could dress like that because they actually didn't have dysfunctional testosterone levels, so nobody cared.
@@werrkowalski2985 pretty sure they all cared, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered keeping up with the fashion trends of their time.
@@werrkowalski2985 And you know what testosterone levels 18th century men had because you measured them directly?
Ah yes, what could be more manly than complaining to a primetime TV audience that no one wants you to "be a real man?"
Haha I love Sabine. Her humour is so tongue in cheek 😂 and they say Germans don’t have a sense of humour
And I don't think that's funny ! - Henning Wehn
One liner jokes are okay. They are funny. But when she started to drag it out, like a recent video where she pretended to receive phone calls from Elon Musk, that became cringy.
Can you make a video on statistical significance? I.e. the threshold and what we consider to be "fact" when it would be more or less strict
Yes please.
Science is always opinions even if widly held
@@davidevans3223 Technically yes, but in practice, you can study something enough to say that the chances of it NOT being what you think it is, are statistically impossible - meaning that, even if you rolled the dice millions of times a second, for thousands of years, your chances of hitting something different are still virtually zero.
@@hyeve3551 if science has proven something to be so precise it's just a fact but most from space to psychologically sciences could be very wrong look at the past earth was clearly flat and the centre of the universe the star's went around us we had sun dials we new the sun circled us but was all wrong who can say in 100 1000 years what we will believe
@@hyeve3551 I suppose it's misleading for example the science around covid will never be proven but over time they will improve but never know 100% the best actions to take but have to make assumption based on facts.
For example it wasn't as deadly as it could have been and lockdowns had a cost to health but there's no way of knowing before hand.
Science uses facts to give best estimate of facts
I didn't subscribe to your channel for humor....so this video was an unexpected delight. Thank you Sabine!
Two quick corrections, testosterone does not actually cause hairloss that is caused by DHT which test can convert to. Testosterone is not taken in pills it is injected, there might be synthetic chemicals they use similar to testosterone in trt treatments in pills but they are not testosterone.
Not only is this true, but some men that take huge amounts of testosterone don't go bald while some men with low testosterone go bald by age 25.
Here's a question... what are the possible effects of micro plastics being a regular part of our diets? Its in our water and in our food from what I've read, so its a bit concerning...
"Possible" effects are outside the realm of science. Science is about looking into "possible" and seeing what is happening. The great value of science is to disentangle us from the web of speculation.
a question has arisen for me Sabine, has there been similar studies in the estrogen levels in women over time: are contemporary women 's estrogen levels lower than women of previous generation? Is the Estrogen level affected by the comfort level in women as it appears to be in in the testosterone of men? Am curious.... and interestingly are the testosterone levels in women corresponding to the change's in level of men? or could it be indirect correlation?
I was curious about that too. It's always manhood that needs to be preserved and protected from contamination. Show's you how fragile masculinity is.
Great video, as usual. The segue to the sponsor was top notch too!
You can’t loose something that you never had.
By what means does NordVPN claim to provide superior protection against phishing? Please back up these claims with both a mechanism and evidence.
That was an ad, not part of the substantive content. My opinion is that Nord is a good VPN, because it has served me well for years. YMMV
Like other companies, they flag dodgy sites.
@@joesterling4299 VPN ads have a habit of touting bogus claims, such as that they protect your privacy. (They protect your privacy from your ISP, and move the eavesdropping threat to the VPN provider, who have the same ability to monitor your content as your ISP would, but are likely to be substantially less regulated than your ISP.)
@@2ndfloorsongs Is there any evidence that NordVPN's effort to flag dodgy is effective? What is their source of intelligence for identifying a phishing site in order to flag it?
She doesn't have to. Not accepting the sponsorship is an option.
I took a lot more than 90 seconds longer than my classmates to run a mile 30 years ago.
I probably could actually run a mile 30 years ago. Now I would rather not run anywhere.
Interesting that the estrogenic effects of many pesticides did not come up. I heard that was well established. There are lots of pesticides in our food chain especially if you don't et organic, and they build up by an order of magnitude in animal fats, so carnivores get a heavier dose. This is mostly from my biology 101 class in the 1970's.
Indeed, it even makes it into the water supply in significant quantities. (From the contraceptive pill too.) Overall it's a good video, but this is a glaring omission, I'm afraid. It should also be said that many aspects of masculinity are neurological (rather than hormonal) or indeed cultural, and not directly linked to testosterone, though I can appreciate that that's a wider issue and Sabine seems to want to focus on the issue of testosterone.
@Charles Brainard no it does
@Charles Brainard your wallet just gets assaulted more
Not the sort of estrogen you're thinking of.
What can one who is a "tucker" really have to say about masculinity, anyway?
There is a lot of misunderstanding of the role of testosterone and even some scientist fall for some pseudoscientific claims.
Testosterone in practice is not a miracle hormone how media claims it to be, it is just a piece of a lrge puzzle.
Many of those studies have flaws and high variability and shouldn't be taken too seriously.
For most people, it takes a drastic chronic decrease in testosterone to result in noticable changes in strength and wellbeing, or any side effects. So I agree in the end that the decrease is probably due to lifestyle in general but also not very impactful to our manliness.
Oh Sabine, the dryness of your delivery at 1:43 is priceless!
If anybody ever does a "Sabine Hossenfelder but its out of context" video, 1:43 to 1:52 will be the first clip in the video.
People have been fat and obese since the 1990s and early 2000s, but fertility levels both for men and women have declined more rapidly, especially in the past 10 years! Obesity and bad diet, thus, cannot be an explanation. We also smoke far less these days than 20 - 50 years ago. This video was very superficial and did not go into any of the most current research papers. Very shallow and sensationalistic. Only trying to be funny instead of talking about the most recent data, e.g. the research of Dr. Shanna Swan.
Why would I want high testosterone? I’d rather not be bald.
Well done! I was anticipating this episode, and was not disappointed. Thanks, Sabine.
I have heard that some of the crap in our modern environment has been blamed. For example bisphenol which is found in plastics. It's possible that many corporations simply get away with putting that stuff out there because the affects are subtle and long-term enough to slip under the radar. Either that or they're just above the law, see DuPont "forever chemical" scandle to get a feel for what I mean.
Where's that island where very few boys are born because of something environmental?
Oh yeah like making Teflon. A super dangerous chemical and then simply rebranding it and saying that it's totally "safe" now because it has a different name? Those assholes?
Do you expect that that your correlation will someday become a cause? It will make your hatred of capitalism much easier to rationalize.
It's possible?
@@TeaParty1776 fallacy fallacy much? There's plenty of research pointing towards causation between plastic and hormonal imbalances.
I feel less sanguine about large hormone changes in a few generations. Especially when that also coincides with lower sperm counts, worse cardiovascular fitness, lower strength and higher rates of anxiety and depression. Are the good times really that good?
Thanks a lot Sabine. I'm supposed to be working from home today and all I'm doing is watching your videos. They are very good though.
I'm in the exact same boat, lol
As a team leader of guys mostly sitting in Home Office at the moment; I cant contain the urge:
I get it; but get *some* work done please 🥲
There was a very interesting BBC Horizon documentary in 1993 called "Assault on the male", that linked common chemicals such as detergents, with reduced testosterone levels and lower sperm counts. It was discovered that trout living in a polluted stream were changing sex (M to F) because (after investigation) chemical pollutants had oestrogen assimilating properties. These chemicals also affect mammals, which may explain, or at least shed some light onto this phenomenon. Thanks for all your great videos Sabina.
Yes, that was about the time of the publication of the book _Our Stolen Future_ . That book was quickly dismissed as much ado about very little by mainstream journalists and politicians, but an additional 30 years of research have confirmed that those worrisome trends are real and continuing around the world. But to reverse them, politicians would have to defy major corporations and in some cases public fury over being inconvenienced or paying more for safer products.
That's what I learned in school as well. Nobody is talking about anymore though. Was it proven wrong?
Also the impact of microplastics being in basically everything. It has shown to have a significant detrimental impact on male fertility and for womens health as well as well as reducing testosterone levels. It is hardly surprising with all these things combined.
She's the worst. Their videos about off-topics (not physics) that show social problems specially denounced by right wingers, she admites the existence of the problem but dismisses the urgency and relevance of the problem, and uses absurd examples to mock the people who are advogating the cause. Even so low-t been show having high correlation on depression and mental disorders increase and a lot of other bad effects in man and woman that can cause a lot of other spiral bad effects in economy and society. The study about high protein correlating with low-t seens a bit absurd to me, I think the "protein" she's refering too are in fact canned and processed meat since I have read another studies that says the exactly opposite of that low protein diet can cause low-t in man, since it's in the red meat that a lot of the compounds used to make testosterone are found (or notable increase they). Another thing she simple choose not to talk about is the so called "endocrine disruptors", I don't really know the veracity of the claims about the effects of these compounds on the body but she should have talked about that since, if it's true, it's the most probable cause of low-t in man and it's a huge problem to humanity and to nature in general. She' the worst because she's clearly bias but pretend to be impartial and also is really arrogant like most scholars.
@@MAKChaosLander maybe consider the people and their causes are really stupid, my guy
There are also microplastics which supposedly act similar to estrogen in the body
This was fantastic. Thanks for a laugh in the new year. 🎉
Lots o guys responding here with “now i know what to do to keep testosterone up” without examining why bother keeping testosterone high in the first place. Rewatch the vid, maybe in the afternoon when you can think better 😉
I would have loved to see Sabine's face when this idea was first pitched as an episode suggestion. Still, it was very well done. As usual full of useful information with humor placed within at just the right times. This has become one of my favorite CZcams channels. Thank you.
Just missing the main point. Reduced testosterone is tied to endocrine-disrupting chemicals called phthalates (eg. microplastics)
@@lawrencefrost9063 prove it
if there was ever an example for "dry humor", this is it!
God bless you. You mum must be so proud. Thanks for the giggles and knowledge.
Watching you and listening to your argument I'm sure my testosterone level went up. Love your work.
I am already a fan. But this installation makes me love you the most. Stepping out of your area of expertise, you demonstrate outstanding critical thinking skills are applied equally in all areas of research. You Rock! Also, you have a comedic timing that appeals to my funny bone.
All pure guesswork, just like in modern Physics
the area of expertise is in fact research, quantification, analysis, and summarized presentation.
Why didn't she mention xenoestrogens and plastics inundating our everyday modern life, packaged in all our food, fire retardant in all our furniture, microplastics in our water and all the other chemicals becoming increasingly pervasive over the last 50 years.
Sure Tucker Carlson is a numbnut and is vastly over exaggerating "the fallllllllllllll of man" but falling testosterone levels and falling sperm concentrations and more "deformed"(laymen speak) sperm is a growing issue.
@@gdiwolverinemale2745 Exactly
Nothing about Phthalates is in nearly in all plastics, cosmetics and lotions
@@theastuteangler Indeed, That is why talented scientists can cross fields without sacrificing rigor. Physicists have probably been the most successful at that; i.e., changing fields well into their careers and doing ground-breaking work in their new field.
That sponsorship transition came out of absolutely nowhere hahaha. Well done and interesting video 👍
Is it a problem that testosteron levels are dropping? It certainly is! If low levels cause depression and lack of energy, as stated in the beginning, than this is very important and has a huge impact on the individual and on the society.
Stop mansplaining!
10:42
SWEET!
I've been worried about my amount of testosterons AND looking for a reason to start smoking again!
I love this channel!
It's delightful to have someone cutting through all the crap, and just serve the known statistics.
I'll be enjoying existential physics on audible at work tomorrow, and fully expect the 12 hours to fly by.
@@hhf39p Climate change denial is astro-turfed from start to finish and is propagated by the creation of false science done at think tanks funded by billionaires
it in no way is mirrored by a scientist reviewing existing literature that wasn't done at think tanks funded by billionaires
If there is a problem with endocrine disruptors the issue is that the data doesn't exist to say what they do. The white supremacist conspiracy peddled by Tucker isn't something a few quotes from a few scientists could ever make into something that is "part of a larger discussion" that's being had by actual research professionals. Scientists can lie and the ones a guy like Tucker might quote are likely compromised by the profit motive.
If you think the right wing conspiracy about men becoming less manly causing the fall of "western" (read: white) civilization could be true because we haven't studies something enough and it "could" be causing the fall of "western" (read white) civilization then my issue is that you've bought so many premises that are rooted in pseudoscience that trying to have a reasonable conversation about the use of endocrine disruptive chemicals is functionally impossible. You've accepted a hundred white supremacist ideas to get to the point where you hear "men are less manly" and think "yeah that's true and BAD"
@@hhf39p You could have quoted those scientists you mentioned as well but alas you haven't either. Those must be very mysterious scientists.
@@hhf39p she's basically just saying there are too many variables to give a definite answer. But there are some known facts that explain some of the issue, but not all.
@@hhf39p Now you are just making shit up :) I mean you always did but now it became very obvious.
@@hhf39p except… a straw man argument is one where you do not address the issue which you face but mischaracterize it and replace it with a fake one. Usually that’s what Tucker Carlson does, and here she adresses his actual views and what he is basically selling. I don’t think this argument holds.
Thank you for this information, it was informative.
you're a regular Claude Shannon
“Tan their balls…” Three words I never thought I’d hear Sabine say after watching all her videos about quantum mechanics, etc. 😂
I had an old uncle in law who used to blame women for masculinity loss in men, because they are too skinny in his opinion.
Hi Sabine, I'm 71 and on TRT. I'm less angry, calmer, and the "brain fog" is gone. My sexual function was active before, and I didn't see any change, one way or another. I just feel a lot better. Blood sugar is a much bigger issue than testosterone in the general public IMO.
Medicine, IMO, is very primitive today.
Coffee did for me! Real manly espresso, not that dirty water american girly-men drink!
I'm 30 and an on testosterone. My body was producing almost no testosterone. I was depressed, couldn't think clearly, was literally wasting away
I'm immensely more happy now
@@alexanderprice2116 how did you find out that test is low? Did antidepressants work?
@@alexbork4250 Thank you for the similar and just as sensible position. Hormone supplementation seem deadly to me. Cancer, etc. Might not feel so good in The End.
@@alexbork4250 Antidepressants worked with a lot of side effects for me. It helped with depression but not with concentration. I found out my testosterone is low by going to my primary care doctor and getting my labs done. I went to a urologist and got more and more labs done. Ruled out anything besides just my body isn't producing it
I'm unconvinced of the value of turning levels of naturally occurring hormones into broad social narratives.
You might if you were suffering from low Testosterone...
That's right! But it's oh so convenient lol to explain away all your problems like that..instead of getting to the crux of the societal issues or maybe even venture into ontological territory if you're up for a challenge...
It’s a sign of society moving from traditional misogyny and male glorification (and traditional misandty that view men as disposable ) to feminist misandry and female glorification.
@@jaimeduncan6167 💩💩
the point is that the levels may not be natural at all
I find it interesting that the primary male sex hormone is more a subject of ridicule and tongue-in-cheek humour than if we were talking about oestrogen.
Especially since there is ample research tying low testosterone to countless mental and physical problems in men.
Did you know that they even researched low testosterone in the context of COVID-19? Nope, guess why no one told anyone about what they found? Surely, there must be a ...scientific... reason to keep that research away from the public during the pandemic.
us men dont give a crap lol balls funny
I didn't except at all that the decline in smoking would be one of the major factors of the decline in testosterone levels.
This also sheds a new light on the concept of toxic masculinity.....
So, since you're a scientist, can I use this video in court when my neighbors call the cops on me for tanning my nether regions in the front yard?
With your new level of testosterone you won't call the cops, you'll handle it yourself. Downside: no nether regions tanner in prison.
I love that there is nothing that Sabine can't educate us about 😁👍🏼
@@lvr8429 no one needs to educate her on that at all.
I like her hair style a lot and her insights outside of her field.
Weird, that you named her hair style first. Is that even relevant?
It is not as if she tells us that tobacco does not cause cancer,
like physicists did who got paid by the tobacco industry or something.
Also she did not claim to know anything better than the experts on the field,
which would be the only reason to object that she talks about things she is no
expert on the field.
I am a devout fan of Richard Feynman who also had great insights out of his
faculty, which was of course physics.
Telling you what government guidelines and big pharma funded research papers agree upon is not educating.
@@lvr8429 I find I'm more subjective in the morning and more impartial as the day goes on. Maybe this correlates with testosterone levels.
In the past Sabina has described her hair as problematic. I've observed that her hair appears more unmanageable when she's talking about relativity. Maybe this has something to do with Einstein.
@@2ndfloorsongs * Bobble-head Albert Nods Sagely *
@@lvr8429 lol cope and seethe
Thumbnail, this is how we measure temperature in cold regions.
"So you get a Phd in physics and somehow wind up on youtube talking about men tanning their balls" HAHAHA 🤣
My testosterone level dropped 25% while watching this video
testeron
@@xXMACEMANXx fixed
Sabine is just wow.. I love your take on different studies and bringing truth to light.
"There are naked picture of me, all over the Internet. What is going on?"
On the positive side, self-application of intense ionizing radiation to one's reproductive organs might be viewed as a kinder, gentler way of capturing a well-deserved Darwin Award.
Fascinating! I think studies that involve Finns are particularly interesting, because of the high consumption of tobacco and the relatively recent conflict with Russia during WWII. Finnish culture is influenced to a degree by the fear of Russia attacking, so it would be interesting to compare some of the data to Sweden, for instance, as they haven't had a comparable conflict. The connections to alcoholism would also be worthwhile to investigate.
Good ideas.
Never thought I'd disagree with Carl Sagan on anything, but hey here we are.
Thanks for the video Sabine!
I agree. Calling testosterone a poison is just stupid and sexist. If someone did that to women they’d be called sexist.
@@maxwell8758 Also the notion that it's only purpose and consequence is fighting off predators is just stupid, I wonder what the context was for his uncharacteristically small-minded statement.
@@lancewalker2595 Sagan was a feminist. Also, Sabine agrees. The full video is predicated on the idea that this is a very good development even if it affects cardiovascular performance.
@@jaimeduncan6167 Perhaps. Also, let's not point out that there are more reasons than simple sexism that men literally created everything in civilization.
Sagan was also a proponent of the notion of apocalyptic nuclear winter. The evidence for that idea was never nearly as good as he claimed.
"Soft men make men hard. Hard men make good times. Good times make men soft"
One thing you didn't mention is the diminishing mineral and vitamin levels in food which we now believe is due to faster growth rates of crops due to increased carbon dioxide levels. It seems that plants store excess energy as carbs the same way that we do with fat, and furthermore, quite surprisingly, adding fiber to ones diet actually seems to aid with nutrient absorption somehow so as white rice and white flour become more commonplace, and come to replace tougher, more fibrous foodstuffs, the diseases that once only afflicted the rich become more commonplace.