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Can I say: people seem surprisingly emotionaly invested in arguments for or against certain diets. I expected more presentation of data and less ad hominen from
by Kinnard 11y ago
Can I say: people seem surprisingly emotionaly invested in arguments for or against certain diets.
I expected more presentation of data and less ad hominen from HN on a subject that as far as I knew wasn't the most contentious our society was facing.
- brandonmenc 11y agoCasual observation, but hackers seem to gravitate toward vegetarian and caveman diets more so than the general population, which is probably why this thread is so frothy.
- Kinnard 11y agoI noticed that too. Myself included. I really wonder why? Some form of anarcho-primitivism that comes from working so closely with the most advanced tech?
- brandonmenc 11y agoI think because the body becomes something to hack, they're often already adventurous eaters, and smart people sometimes fall into the trap of believing their intelligence applies equally well to areas outside their expertise (ex: the physician who thinks they can pick stocks, or the programmer who thinks they know more about cholesterol than a cardiologist.)
- Kinnard 11y agoHmmm. So you don't believe in polymathy?
- brandonmenc 11y agoI don't believe that people who aren't medical researchers can argue against the prevailing theory of dietary cholesterol any more than a layperson can go head to head with climate scientists and argue against global warming. Ironically, I eat a high cholesterol diet because I believe I'm not a so-called hyper-responder. But also because my doctor says "keep doing what you're doing" every time I get a lipid panel.
- Kinnard 11y agoWell, isn't it really their data that are going up against each other and not the people themselves or their credentials? The guy from the video has a PhD in Medicine and an MD but people without degrees are making the same arguments.
- vixen99 11y agoGiven the supposedly authoritative but completely wrong advice that's been dished out over the years by 'experts' on the subject of fats and cholesterol, they might well do. Cardiologists deal with disorders of the heart; their primary expertise is unlikely to in be the biochemistry of the sterols though of course there will be notable exceptions.
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- ferrari8608 11y agoI was thinking the same thing. What confuses me though is how we've had numerous large threads of decent discussion on Soylent, the adult equivalent of baby formula. When it's a discussion about actual food, suddenly everyone's in full battle dress.
- brandonmenc 11y agoTry pointing out that Soylent is just your garden variety weight gainer, and not really new, and you'll see the venom spew.