4 ms·

I met skepticism on HN when I said that mega-doses of vitamin C were helping with my hay fever symptoms and was literally insulted on YouTube when I advised to

I met skepticism on HN when I said that mega-doses of vitamin C were helping with my hay fever symptoms and was literally insulted on YouTube when I advised to keep water in your mouth while cutting onions to avoid crying. Why would I care that these 2 things are not peer reviewed by some high level scientists ? I know it won't be a popular opinion here but there's too much emphasis placed on science nowadays. While science is perfect, scientists aren't, they can make mistakes, they can be bought, and more importantly there's not enough budget to prove everything. So I'm a pragmatist : if the thing makes sense to me and isn't costly or dangerous to try, I try it. In fact I whish the placebo effect was much more prevalent. Imagine if you could cure everything with a few drops of fresh squeezed lemon juice in warm water ?

bmn__ 7y ago
> was literally insulted on YouTube when I advised to keep water in your mouth while cutting onions to avoid crying The reaction is unsurprising. Anyone who has ever cut onions gained an understanding that irritating gas (http://enwp.org/Syn-Propanethial-S-oxide http://enwp.org/Syn-Propanethial-S-oxide) wafts up into the eyes. The hypothesis that water in the mouth is supposed to help runs counter to intuition. It affords testing. Devise an experiment and let us know the result.
- jmnicolas 7y ago
  I don't need to experiment with it, I'm doing it every time I cut onions and I don't cry anymore. It works. If you want to try, next time you cut onions put some water in your mouth and keep it there until you've finished cutting. It will get a bad taste, spit it once you're finished.
taylodl 7y ago
I'm always interested in learning what works for others. People need to understand we're all different so what works for one group of people may not work for other groups of people. Modern medicine has only recently begun to realize there may be several things for which a one cure fits all approach doesn't exist.

bmn__ 7y ago

> was literally insulted on YouTube when I advised to keep water in your mouth while cutting onions to avoid crying The reaction is unsurprising. Anyone who has ever cut onions gained an understanding that irritating gas (http://enwp.org/Syn-Propanethial-S-oxide http://enwp.org/Syn-Propanethial-S-oxide) wafts up into the eyes. The hypothesis that water in the mouth is supposed to help runs counter to intuition. It affords testing. Devise an experiment and let us know the result.

jmnicolas 7y ago
I don't need to experiment with it, I'm doing it every time I cut onions and I don't cry anymore. It works. If you want to try, next time you cut onions put some water in your mouth and keep it there until you've finished cutting. It will get a bad taste, spit it once you're finished.

taylodl 7y ago

I'm always interested in learning what works for others. People need to understand we're all different so what works for one group of people may not work for other groups of people. Modern medicine has only recently begun to realize there may be several things for which a one cure fits all approach doesn't exist.