4 ms·

> Hacker news is one of the places where I often value the comments more than the linked articles themselves. But wow. This thread is full of pseudo-science typ

> Hacker news is one of the places where I often value the comments more than the linked articles themselves. But wow. This thread is full of pseudo-science type reasoning. It's been this way for years. HN is really quite good when it comes to things in their wheelhouse (software, tech companies), but hilariously bad about diet and related issues, I suspect because it's a sore spot for many and they are in denial.

Lopiolis 6y ago
Well, more than diet, anything that isn't technical in nature. Economics, (geo-)politics, biology (particularly humans), etc. There's a lot of that fallacy around here that being knowledgeable/smart in one area means that obviously it transfers to every other field.
- npsimons 6y ago
  I just remember a while back fecal transplants came up here (and other forums I frequent) as a "treatment" for obesity, as they found different gut flora between obese and healthy weight populations. So many people were thinking they could get a fecal transplant to cure their obesity, not stopping to ask maybe what was causing gut flora to be different between obese and healthy weight populations. And as for diet, the studies are out there. I'm no expert, but I listen to people who could credibly be argued are (as one example Dr. Greger who reads tons of studies and cites them in his videos), and typically their advice comes down to common wisdom that people just don't want to hear: eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
pas 6y ago
Diet is one of the things that's absolutely full of bad science, because it's hard to study. So claiming HN is somehow in denial implies there's an amazing scientific consensus. (Also even if we take the best studies at face value the relative risk differences are ridiculously low between diets. [At least as far as I know.])
- npsimons 6y ago
  > (Also even if we take the best studies at face value the relative risk differences are ridiculously low between diets. [At least as far as I know.]) See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. I'm willing to bet that just like me, you're not an expert in that field. And there are people who are experts in the field, reviewing the literature, and have come up with a pretty good consensus.
  - pas 6y ago
    I never claimed I was. I'm basically regurgitating the Bad Food Bible book (written by Aaron Carroll, the guy who hosts HealthCareTriage).
    - npsimons 6y ago
      Well, I'm regurgitating a Dr. Greger of https://nutritionfacts.org https://nutritionfacts.org, who is constantly reading studies and papers to get to the bottom of dietary science. You're welcome to spool through his hours of video on YouTube on the subject (where he quotes excerpts from studies he's read), or maybe just start with this one on gut flora and obesity: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/gut-flora-obesity/ https://nutritionfacts.org/video/gut-flora-obesity/ Sources are under the video.
      - breakfastduck 6y ago
        Dude there is far from a 'consensus' in this field. Recommending reading one guys opinion on it sorta proves the point.
      - pas 6y ago
        Yes, so. The linked video is about a n=30 observational study. "Diet science" is full of this. (At least this study explicitly noted that no inference regarding health outcomes were made.) The guy is fighting the good fight (against USDA and so on), but this is still the HN is hilariously bad at diet and related issues.
  - 6y ago

Lopiolis 6y ago

Well, more than diet, anything that isn't technical in nature. Economics, (geo-)politics, biology (particularly humans), etc. There's a lot of that fallacy around here that being knowledgeable/smart in one area means that obviously it transfers to every other field.

npsimons 6y ago
I just remember a while back fecal transplants came up here (and other forums I frequent) as a "treatment" for obesity, as they found different gut flora between obese and healthy weight populations. So many people were thinking they could get a fecal transplant to cure their obesity, not stopping to ask maybe what was causing gut flora to be different between obese and healthy weight populations. And as for diet, the studies are out there. I'm no expert, but I listen to people who could credibly be argued are (as one example Dr. Greger who reads tons of studies and cites them in his videos), and typically their advice comes down to common wisdom that people just don't want to hear: eat food, not too much, mostly plants.

pas 6y ago

Diet is one of the things that's absolutely full of bad science, because it's hard to study. So claiming HN is somehow in denial implies there's an amazing scientific consensus. (Also even if we take the best studies at face value the relative risk differences are ridiculously low between diets. [At least as far as I know.])

npsimons 6y ago
> (Also even if we take the best studies at face value the relative risk differences are ridiculously low between diets. [At least as far as I know.]) See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. I'm willing to bet that just like me, you're not an expert in that field. And there are people who are experts in the field, reviewing the literature, and have come up with a pretty good consensus.
- pas 6y ago
  I never claimed I was. I'm basically regurgitating the Bad Food Bible book (written by Aaron Carroll, the guy who hosts HealthCareTriage).
  - npsimons 6y ago
    Well, I'm regurgitating a Dr. Greger of https://nutritionfacts.org https://nutritionfacts.org, who is constantly reading studies and papers to get to the bottom of dietary science. You're welcome to spool through his hours of video on YouTube on the subject (where he quotes excerpts from studies he's read), or maybe just start with this one on gut flora and obesity: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/gut-flora-obesity/ https://nutritionfacts.org/video/gut-flora-obesity/ Sources are under the video.
    - breakfastduck 6y ago
      Dude there is far from a 'consensus' in this field. Recommending reading one guys opinion on it sorta proves the point.
    - pas 6y ago
      Yes, so. The linked video is about a n=30 observational study. "Diet science" is full of this. (At least this study explicitly noted that no inference regarding health outcomes were made.) The guy is fighting the good fight (against USDA and so on), but this is still the HN is hilariously bad at diet and related issues.
- 6y ago