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You might as well describe global warming as the "simple physics" of the Earth taking in more calories than it expends. It's technically correct but utterly use

You might as well describe global warming as the "simple physics" of the Earth taking in more calories than it expends. It's technically correct but utterly useless information.

leetcrew 8y ago
it's pretty useful information for a motivated individual looking to lose weight. it's not terribly useful if you're trying to make a bunch of other people do something they don't feel intrinsic motivation to do.
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  It would be a pretty useful information for a hypothetical perfect human, in full conscious control of all their bodily function. Alas, real humans are not like that, and deviations from homeostasis tend to manifest themselves in a way that's under limited, or beyond, conscious control.
  - leetcrew 8y ago
    I understand that some things are much harder for some people than for others, but let's not just throw out entirely the idea that individuals can make a concerted effort to change their lifestyle. I used to cope with boredom by overeating candy and drinking sugary sodas. after a while I noticed that I was starting to get fat. I figured this was probably happening because I was consuming too many calories, so I stopped eating candy and drinking soda. it sucked for months, but eventually my hunger adjusted to the new level of calorie intake and I no longer had to think about it consciously.
    - TeMPOraL 8y ago
      I'm not trying to claim that people can't change their lifestyles with sustained effort. I'm really going for two things here: 1) Willpower is something for an individual to try, but given that so many people seem to completely fail at it, it's not a productive avenue for solving this problem in a systemic way. For the same reason, we e.g. prefer to design safe electrical systems instead of just telling people to be careful. 2) A lot of signals coming from our bodies influence our behavior on the level beyond conscious control. It would be much easier to will yourself into healthy weight if you only had to decide to eat less, instead of constantly fighting hunger, fatigue, stress, and compulsive thoughts about food. The degree and type of such subconscious influence seems to differ between people.

You might as well describe global warming as the "simple physics" of the Earth taking in more calories than it expends. It's technically correct but utterly useless information.

leetcrew 8y ago

it's pretty useful information for a motivated individual looking to lose weight. it's not terribly useful if you're trying to make a bunch of other people do something they don't feel intrinsic motivation to do.

TeMPOraL 8y ago
It would be a pretty useful information for a hypothetical perfect human, in full conscious control of all their bodily function. Alas, real humans are not like that, and deviations from homeostasis tend to manifest themselves in a way that's under limited, or beyond, conscious control.
- leetcrew 8y ago
  I understand that some things are much harder for some people than for others, but let's not just throw out entirely the idea that individuals can make a concerted effort to change their lifestyle. I used to cope with boredom by overeating candy and drinking sugary sodas. after a while I noticed that I was starting to get fat. I figured this was probably happening because I was consuming too many calories, so I stopped eating candy and drinking soda. it sucked for months, but eventually my hunger adjusted to the new level of calorie intake and I no longer had to think about it consciously.
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    I'm not trying to claim that people can't change their lifestyles with sustained effort. I'm really going for two things here: 1) Willpower is something for an individual to try, but given that so many people seem to completely fail at it, it's not a productive avenue for solving this problem in a systemic way. For the same reason, we e.g. prefer to design safe electrical systems instead of just telling people to be careful. 2) A lot of signals coming from our bodies influence our behavior on the level beyond conscious control. It would be much easier to will yourself into healthy weight if you only had to decide to eat less, instead of constantly fighting hunger, fatigue, stress, and compulsive thoughts about food. The degree and type of such subconscious influence seems to differ between people.