Air Conditioning

Summer brings about the timeless debate over body temperature.

Many argue that to be able to survive the sweltering heat of the summer, one must embrace that heat. In other words, to acclimate, one must eschew air conditioning. Proponents of adaptability point to Floridians or members of obscure tribes on the Amazon: they don’t have air conditioning and you don’t hear them complaining about the heat. Air conditioning, they avow, only acts to retard that acclimation process.

The argument is so compelling because in many ways it is true. However, it falls apart when you scrutinize the word “eventually”. Adaptability doesn’t happen in a few months. And even it if did, would it be worth suffering through June and July, just so that in August you can declare triumphantly, “I’m used to the heat”?

No one seriously states that for the sake of acclimation, one should walk around in the winter sans coat. Admittedly there are difference between the two (winter can be deadly, summer is a nuisance), but the point is the same… why not be cold all winter long so that the cold doesn’t bother you? When it comes right down to it, a hot shower or a cup of hot chocolate is what you need to stay functional and above all, stay warm.

Air conditioning acts to lower your core temperature so that you can withstand the immense heat when heaped upon you. In true essence of the word, the summer is a shock that his thrust upon all of us. To survive any shock, one must have stability and proper precautions in place.

What better shock to serve as an example than that of electrocution. When a patient receives electro-shock therapy, he bites down on a mouth guard so he won’t do the same on his tongue. Air conditioning, ladies and gentlemen, is that mouth guard. Do yourself a favor, use your air conditioning and you won’t lacerate yourself.