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This is sort of off topic, but I wonder about the validity of the "carnivore diet". People will talk about Inuits and ketogenic diet and such. I eat very littl

by cko 6y ago

This is sort of off topic, but I wonder about the validity of the "carnivore diet". People will talk about Inuits and ketogenic diet and such. I eat very little meat myself, due to health beliefs, but things like food beliefs are very difficult to scientifically defend. I know of all these "plant protein" studies and the China Study but finding cause and effect with something like diet is near impossible. Upon reflection I have the tendency to want to be right and to feel superior because of some esoteric knowledge.

codr7 6y ago
That puts you in pretty good company, including the parent post. Could be worse, at least you're self aware enough to see it. The only alternative that makes any sense at all is use your brain to lay your own puzzle. That may well put you in a position where you disagree with respected authorities/public opinion, but the alternative is blind faith which never ends well.
didibus 6y ago
There's a very common form of reasoning that humans tend to do. I'll call it reductionism. You can also call it abstraction, or simplification. This is our drive to find a one size fit all solution, a clever trick, something really easy and simple that consistently works. We all have this tendency, it manifests itself due to the limits of our own intelligence. As humans, we're not intelligent enough to understand, reason, and keep track of complicated things. Understanding the limits of your understanding and intelligence is really hard, and in my opinion, that's the true sign of knowledge. It is very rare to find someone knowledgeable enough to have a good grasp on those limits. Diet is not something we are smart enough to understand. Most people will not understand the complexities related to dieting and understanding it. That's why you'll have people parroting simple solutions grounded in beliefs only. It's too complicated to explain why it works, and too complicated to experiment with. So we can neither understand the principles of diet, nor can we try things and see if they work or not. This is the current state of dieting. Like I said, all complicated things we try to find simple solutions that consistently works. So what can be more simple than say... limiting ourself to a particular food group? Try cutting out all meats. Try only eating meats, maybe cut out all sugar? Maybe eat only natural fats? Or don't eat any fat? Etc. And the sad truth is, the limits to our intelligence is why people will believe in all kind of stupid things. Until someone actually figures it out, the folk tales will keep coming and the battle of beliefs and idiocy will rage on. What smart people generally do when faced with limits such as those, is they turn to math and computers to help us reason about things that are out of reach of our own abilities. And until clear breakthrough are made, they take a statistical approach, where you do what at any given point seems to be the most likely model, knowing that it could be completely wrong still, but that's the best you can do to win the odds.
ip26 6y ago
Inuits get by, but were they particularly healthy? IMO we simply don't understand diet enough to prove what you should do. Instead, the best we can do is identify the people with the best outcomes, and try to emulate their lifestyle & diets. Essentially what Blue Zones did. You risk cargo-culting, but it's the best we can do.

by cko 6y ago

codr7 6y ago

That puts you in pretty good company, including the parent post. Could be worse, at least you're self aware enough to see it. The only alternative that makes any sense at all is use your brain to lay your own puzzle. That may well put you in a position where you disagree with respected authorities/public opinion, but the alternative is blind faith which never ends well.

didibus 6y ago

There's a very common form of reasoning that humans tend to do. I'll call it reductionism. You can also call it abstraction, or simplification. This is our drive to find a one size fit all solution, a clever trick, something really easy and simple that consistently works. We all have this tendency, it manifests itself due to the limits of our own intelligence. As humans, we're not intelligent enough to understand, reason, and keep track of complicated things. Understanding the limits of your understanding and intelligence is really hard, and in my opinion, that's the true sign of knowledge. It is very rare to find someone knowledgeable enough to have a good grasp on those limits. Diet is not something we are smart enough to understand. Most people will not understand the complexities related to dieting and understanding it. That's why you'll have people parroting simple solutions grounded in beliefs only. It's too complicated to explain why it works, and too complicated to experiment with. So we can neither understand the principles of diet, nor can we try things and see if they work or not. This is the current state of dieting. Like I said, all complicated things we try to find simple solutions that consistently works. So what can be more simple than say... limiting ourself to a particular food group? Try cutting out all meats. Try only eating meats, maybe cut out all sugar? Maybe eat only natural fats? Or don't eat any fat? Etc. And the sad truth is, the limits to our intelligence is why people will believe in all kind of stupid things. Until someone actually figures it out, the folk tales will keep coming and the battle of beliefs and idiocy will rage on. What smart people generally do when faced with limits such as those, is they turn to math and computers to help us reason about things that are out of reach of our own abilities. And until clear breakthrough are made, they take a statistical approach, where you do what at any given point seems to be the most likely model, knowing that it could be completely wrong still, but that's the best you can do to win the odds.

ip26 6y ago

Inuits get by, but were they particularly healthy? IMO we simply don't understand diet enough to prove what you should do. Instead, the best we can do is identify the people with the best outcomes, and try to emulate their lifestyle & diets. Essentially what Blue Zones did. You risk cargo-culting, but it's the best we can do.