5 ms·

> not scientifically useful This isn't a peer reviewed journal, we're just a community chatting about stuff, so that's not really a germane standard. Anecdotes

by ellyagg 10y ago

> not scientifically useful This isn't a peer reviewed journal, we're just a community chatting about stuff, so that's not really a germane standard. Anecdotes are a perfectly reasonable input into our personal Bayesian inference filters, since no one has all the answers yet (not even close).

Dr_tldr 10y ago
But beyond being a humblebrag, it's also bordering on a just-world view of the universe that's basically superstition. Without reference to a larger dataset, the inference "I"m never sick because I played in the woods and ate weird stuff. If you get sick a lot, it's partially your fault because you didn't do that." could easily be replaced with "I'm never sick because I prayed to the right god every day. If you get sick a lot..."
- kome 10y ago
  > it's partially your fault because you didn't do that I never implied that. If something, I said that too much pressure by society is making parents work harder, and that's not necessarily a good thing.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - ngrilly 10y ago
    I'm wondering why you are downvoted for this comment?
    - Dr_tldr 10y ago
      It's placing blame for a general problem on the decisions and values of certain people and societies. In terms of logical structure, taking an anecdote and universalizing it without a falsifiable explanatory mechanism is indistinguishable from blaming faraway natural disasters on other people sinning against the gods. In both cases, people and society are held to be at least partially culpable for something bad that happened to them without presenting any evidence other than that they don't do all the same things that you do, and you're doing fine.
- wonkaWonka 10y ago
  Claims of humblebraggadocio is the HN counterpart to calling out an "edgelord" elsewhere. As a word, humblebrag is irritating to see in use, even if you are not its target.
  - aaronbrethorst 10y ago
    In case this was the first time anyone else encountered this term: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=edgelord http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=edgelord
- reitanqild 10y ago
  Don't know exactly where to leave this comment but: could it be that some of the cases we see are linked to the nocebo (I think this is the word, opposite of placebo) effect? People who are used to dirt knows that they'll handle this alright because they always have lived in these conditions? While people who grew up in cleaner conditions get tricket into a bad feedback loop where any sign of anything wrong gets amplified by the brain and fed back to the autonomous part of the nervous system? (I happily admit I'm on thin ice here.) Placebo and nocebos are pretty strong effects. Recently we had an incident where a number of postal workers were sent to hospital with rashes after having handled a suspect package which contained white powder. The powder later turned out to be flour. I have also managed to get, and cure myself from side effects by 1. Reading about the side effects and experience them first hand. 2. Get rid of them immediately once I could proove to myself that they were related to me thinking I had taken my pills, while they were actually still on the countertop.
  - Lxr 10y ago
    Maybe for minor ailments but absolutely no way for real hardcore autoimmune disease. Usually there are several objective abnormalities in blood results, on x-rays, colonoscopy, MRI etc. Have a look at some images of the hands of someone with rheumatoid arthritis - there's a lot more going on than placebo/nocebo/anxiety.

by ellyagg 10y ago

Dr_tldr 10y ago

But beyond being a humblebrag, it's also bordering on a just-world view of the universe that's basically superstition. Without reference to a larger dataset, the inference "I"m never sick because I played in the woods and ate weird stuff. If you get sick a lot, it's partially your fault because you didn't do that." could easily be replaced with "I'm never sick because I prayed to the right god every day. If you get sick a lot..."

kome 10y ago
> it's partially your fault because you didn't do that I never implied that. If something, I said that too much pressure by society is making parents work harder, and that's not necessarily a good thing.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- ngrilly 10y ago
  I'm wondering why you are downvoted for this comment?
  - Dr_tldr 10y ago
    It's placing blame for a general problem on the decisions and values of certain people and societies. In terms of logical structure, taking an anecdote and universalizing it without a falsifiable explanatory mechanism is indistinguishable from blaming faraway natural disasters on other people sinning against the gods. In both cases, people and society are held to be at least partially culpable for something bad that happened to them without presenting any evidence other than that they don't do all the same things that you do, and you're doing fine.
wonkaWonka 10y ago
Claims of humblebraggadocio is the HN counterpart to calling out an "edgelord" elsewhere. As a word, humblebrag is irritating to see in use, even if you are not its target.
- aaronbrethorst 10y ago
  In case this was the first time anyone else encountered this term: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=edgelord http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=edgelord
reitanqild 10y ago
Don't know exactly where to leave this comment but: could it be that some of the cases we see are linked to the nocebo (I think this is the word, opposite of placebo) effect? People who are used to dirt knows that they'll handle this alright because they always have lived in these conditions? While people who grew up in cleaner conditions get tricket into a bad feedback loop where any sign of anything wrong gets amplified by the brain and fed back to the autonomous part of the nervous system? (I happily admit I'm on thin ice here.) Placebo and nocebos are pretty strong effects. Recently we had an incident where a number of postal workers were sent to hospital with rashes after having handled a suspect package which contained white powder. The powder later turned out to be flour. I have also managed to get, and cure myself from side effects by 1. Reading about the side effects and experience them first hand. 2. Get rid of them immediately once I could proove to myself that they were related to me thinking I had taken my pills, while they were actually still on the countertop.
- Lxr 10y ago
  Maybe for minor ailments but absolutely no way for real hardcore autoimmune disease. Usually there are several objective abnormalities in blood results, on x-rays, colonoscopy, MRI etc. Have a look at some images of the hands of someone with rheumatoid arthritis - there's a lot more going on than placebo/nocebo/anxiety.