Human beings are biased by nature. We are prone to believe what we want to believe. The good thing is that we can rely on unbiased, objective facts to correct our biased beliefs. Facts show the true way reality actually exists instead of just the way we subjectively interpret it. Facts are used to settle debates and conflicting interpretations of the truth.
Unfortunately, the facts about mold are fuzzy, unclear, and often up for debate. At the same time, since our health, homes, and finances are at stake, our human bias is heavy, strong, and passionate. Fuzzy facts and human bias breeds a very frustrating environment when it comes to dealing with mold in our lives.
Do you have mold? It sounds like an easy, “yes or no” question. But it isn’t so simple to answer. First of all, there are no standards to determine what is a “dangerous” or even “abnormal” amount of mold. And even if there were, mold sampling methods are subject to a number of factors that cannot objectively determine how much mold is present. These factors, including when the test was taken, how many times, where it was taken, or how it was taken, can be used to either “prove” that high levels of mold exist or no mold exists at all – depending on the human bias involved.
Is mold harmful? For every doctor that diagnoses patients with symptoms of toxic mold poisoning, another doctor may conclude that the symptoms were from something else. For every study that links mold to a wide variety of illnesses, there is another study that concludes there is “no evidence” that mold is harmful to human health at all.
Also, you have to consider the type of mold, how much of it exists, how it’s affecting people, and the genetics and current health status of each person exposed. Mold can be allergenic, pathogenic, or toxic – each with its own set of symptoms. Individuals may be susceptible to different types of mold in different ways. There is no standard that says a certain type of mold will always make every kind of person sick in exactly the same way.
When the facts are fuzzy, people will believe what they want to believe. I can tell you that some types of mold, affecting some types of people, can be unhealthy, even deadly. But this is not always the case, and it is difficult, sometimes impossible, to prove beyond every doubt that a particular case of mold is responsible and who is to blame.
These fuzzy facts are complicated by human bias. Mold leads to lawsuits ranging in the tens of millions of dollars. For insurance companies, a single mold lawsuit isn’t even the entire risk but a ruling that will create a legal precedent that will lead to more payouts. With that much money at stake, you can imagine that both sides are going to look at the available information and the available “experts” and make the conclusions that show that their side is right. Their human bias will make them honestly believe it.
My advice is to avoid the legal sinkholes that have trapped thousands of mold victims in ongoing lawsuits. These legal battles take their toll on the litigants, perhaps even more than the mold.
But these frustrations can be avoided altogether; it should never come to this in the first place. Mold is easily preventable and easy to remove with the right methods. If you have mold, remove it, clean it up right away. You have to take personal responsibility. Because if you try to blame someone else, you’re going to find that the facts may not always be on your side.
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