His facts are right, but his view on this is way too narrow;
First there is the social factor. I live in the countryside and every season we build fires for different purposes, like celebration and preparing different vegetables (in Slovenia, corn and potato being the most popular ones). It's fun for everyone, regardless of being dangerous. A lof of people gather around the fire and chat, prepare the food and connect. If I die younger because I wanted to meet with people and have fun,... well so be it.
Second reason: nature. The author explains that we have evolved, that we're no longer running from lions and bears. That's true but what about volcanoes (and other natural sources of fire)? The Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland erupted 250 million cubic meters of ash (According to Wikipeda), and there are more active volcanoes, releasing loads of toxins into the air on a daily basis. I'm not a scientist but I think it would take A LOT of wood burning to produce a similar amount of toxins.
As I said, his facts are right, but there is more to it. Much more.
Indeed, I feel like Sam has failed to take into account the full range of tolerance to clear danger.
For example, despite growing up in a public school with a DARE program that stressed the risks, I still drink alcohol at levels that will ultimately be detrimental to my health. I fully understand this risk and, with no cognative dissonance, accept it.
First there is the social factor. I live in the countryside and every season we build fires for different purposes, like celebration and preparing different vegetables (in Slovenia, corn and potato being the most popular ones). It's fun for everyone, regardless of being dangerous. A lof of people gather around the fire and chat, prepare the food and connect. If I die younger because I wanted to meet with people and have fun,... well so be it.
Second reason: nature. The author explains that we have evolved, that we're no longer running from lions and bears. That's true but what about volcanoes (and other natural sources of fire)? The Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland erupted 250 million cubic meters of ash (According to Wikipeda), and there are more active volcanoes, releasing loads of toxins into the air on a daily basis. I'm not a scientist but I think it would take A LOT of wood burning to produce a similar amount of toxins.
As I said, his facts are right, but there is more to it. Much more.