5 ms·

In a proper experiment, another group would be told they will perform better if they eat candy, and are not given candy until the 4th tape

RobertRoberts 9y ago
Sure, but this is life, and since everyone has intimate knowledge of their own bodies, they have a massive database to compare past experience with. So it's not the same as any old random experiment when you test with your own life.
- dekhn 9y ago
  it's worse than any random experiment because it is incredibly prone to a widely known set of biases, which is precisely what experiments try to correct. basically, self-experimentation is incredibly prone to false positives and negatives.
  - RobertRoberts 9y ago
    Well try it yourself then. If you get a good/bad effect, are you saying that it's a pure placebo affect? I have a family, and we don't eat refined sugars. That is the one limitation on diet I have added for us. (besides some religious requirements) And guess how often my kids are sick? Almost never. I mean a slight cough every couple years. You can make claims either way with any experience. But I had ear aches, pink eye, sore throats, flu, (one summer I was sick all 3 months of break) athletes foot, migraines, gas and cramps. I'd wake up delerious from fevers and vomitting. Frequent and regular coughs and colds. This was my entire childhood. I gave up eating crappy food, and I haven't had a sore throat in about 15 years. And when I did, it was because I was drinking too much coffee and not getting sleep. I lowered my coffee intake, got rest and hydrated. And no more sore throat. A doctor will say they are "unrelated", but I have years of testing and proving they are not unrelated. If you get sick and are in a hospital, they give you white bread and jello. But recently, this is beginning to change. A number of people have told me that their doctors have warned them about eating white sugar now, how is damages arteries and causes other problems. So, yes, you are correct, that known biases can affect things. But the truth is hard to deny. Try it yourself, see how well you focus when eating vegetables or unprocessed food of any kind vs junk food. There's a story of a Wisconsin based school for boys (it's like a juvey hall or something) and they removed all the processed food, pop, etc... from their diets, hired an expensive chef to cook good food for them, and across the board, behaviour improved. My story convinced me, it's not "purely scientific" but I _knew_ the difference was there. Refined sugar messed with my ability to focus.
    - jjeaff 9y ago
      Myself and my family pretty much never get sick either. But we have a massive sweet tooth. Lots of ice cream and baked goods and candy.
      - RobertRoberts 9y ago
        Yep, and it doesn't adversely affect some people as much as others. Some people can smoke daily until they are 90. But the truth is coming out about how it adversely affects most people.
    - dekhn 9y ago
      The term you're looking for is "confirmation bias" and it probably explains your observations with sufar.

RobertRoberts 9y ago

Sure, but this is life, and since everyone has intimate knowledge of their own bodies, they have a massive database to compare past experience with. So it's not the same as any old random experiment when you test with your own life.

dekhn 9y ago
it's worse than any random experiment because it is incredibly prone to a widely known set of biases, which is precisely what experiments try to correct. basically, self-experimentation is incredibly prone to false positives and negatives.
- RobertRoberts 9y ago
  Well try it yourself then. If you get a good/bad effect, are you saying that it's a pure placebo affect? I have a family, and we don't eat refined sugars. That is the one limitation on diet I have added for us. (besides some religious requirements) And guess how often my kids are sick? Almost never. I mean a slight cough every couple years. You can make claims either way with any experience. But I had ear aches, pink eye, sore throats, flu, (one summer I was sick all 3 months of break) athletes foot, migraines, gas and cramps. I'd wake up delerious from fevers and vomitting. Frequent and regular coughs and colds. This was my entire childhood. I gave up eating crappy food, and I haven't had a sore throat in about 15 years. And when I did, it was because I was drinking too much coffee and not getting sleep. I lowered my coffee intake, got rest and hydrated. And no more sore throat. A doctor will say they are "unrelated", but I have years of testing and proving they are not unrelated. If you get sick and are in a hospital, they give you white bread and jello. But recently, this is beginning to change. A number of people have told me that their doctors have warned them about eating white sugar now, how is damages arteries and causes other problems. So, yes, you are correct, that known biases can affect things. But the truth is hard to deny. Try it yourself, see how well you focus when eating vegetables or unprocessed food of any kind vs junk food. There's a story of a Wisconsin based school for boys (it's like a juvey hall or something) and they removed all the processed food, pop, etc... from their diets, hired an expensive chef to cook good food for them, and across the board, behaviour improved. My story convinced me, it's not "purely scientific" but I _knew_ the difference was there. Refined sugar messed with my ability to focus.
  - jjeaff 9y ago
    Myself and my family pretty much never get sick either. But we have a massive sweet tooth. Lots of ice cream and baked goods and candy.
    - RobertRoberts 9y ago
      Yep, and it doesn't adversely affect some people as much as others. Some people can smoke daily until they are 90. But the truth is coming out about how it adversely affects most people.
  - dekhn 9y ago
    The term you're looking for is "confirmation bias" and it probably explains your observations with sufar.