4 ms·

I think both can be true. While what you say feels holistic and true philosophically, in day to day, we cannot control for 1000 different variables and some thi

I think both can be true. While what you say feels holistic and true philosophically, in day to day, we cannot control for 1000 different variables and some things have more of an outsized effect than others. For example if someone wrote "Is Exercise the key to a healthy brain", it sure can look click-baity, but in practice it's a tried and tested lever to improve brain health. Sure, you can say "oh there are 10,000 other things that influence brain health and it's a very complex inter-connected system", but you miss the fact that not all of those 10,000 things are equally deserving of your time or even under your influence. In fact, things like exercise or meditation can fall under the "weird trick" category. If focusing on mitochondria's health falls under that "outsized effect" category is the thesis of the article and remains to be seen if it can be included in the same category as other tried and true influential levers.

lamename 5y ago
You beat me to this thought, but the difference is that exercise and high-level lifestyle changes will include underlying changes in a million biological factors, including mitochondria. We see this over and over in press releases when new research is focused on one mechanism (e.g. mitochondria). To me "weird tricks" that capture whole body or lifestyle changes are at least worth paying attention to. While "weird tricks" in the name of a single biological mechanism are indeed overblown (but still worth knowing if you're in to that sort of information).
- nyrulez 5y ago
  I'd say what lies at top of the food chain of cause and effect is simply coming from "availability bias" i.e. we give more weight to what we know to be true. Yes some things have more downstream effects than others and that's where you get your bang for the buck. Whether mitochondria is just one mechanism or more of an over-arching one is what research is all about. For example, HRV feels like on obscure metric out of 100s of metrics. But it has been shown to now have hundreds of mental and physical benefits including longevity, that we don't necessarily understand why but it still has risen to the top. Same for intermittent fasting and so on. These are indeed "weird tricks" in a pretty literal sense but they do the job in predictable and often dramatic ways.
yourabstraction 5y ago
It turns out these "weird tricks" are actually just the things our bodies need to operate properly. We evolved moving everyday, being outside, eating nutrient dense foods, sleeping as much as needed, etc. It's crazy to me to think that there are still people who don't think these things could have huge systemic effects that impact the entire aging/disease process.

lamename 5y ago

You beat me to this thought, but the difference is that exercise and high-level lifestyle changes will include underlying changes in a million biological factors, including mitochondria. We see this over and over in press releases when new research is focused on one mechanism (e.g. mitochondria). To me "weird tricks" that capture whole body or lifestyle changes are at least worth paying attention to. While "weird tricks" in the name of a single biological mechanism are indeed overblown (but still worth knowing if you're in to that sort of information).

nyrulez 5y ago
I'd say what lies at top of the food chain of cause and effect is simply coming from "availability bias" i.e. we give more weight to what we know to be true. Yes some things have more downstream effects than others and that's where you get your bang for the buck. Whether mitochondria is just one mechanism or more of an over-arching one is what research is all about. For example, HRV feels like on obscure metric out of 100s of metrics. But it has been shown to now have hundreds of mental and physical benefits including longevity, that we don't necessarily understand why but it still has risen to the top. Same for intermittent fasting and so on. These are indeed "weird tricks" in a pretty literal sense but they do the job in predictable and often dramatic ways.

yourabstraction 5y ago

It turns out these "weird tricks" are actually just the things our bodies need to operate properly. We evolved moving everyday, being outside, eating nutrient dense foods, sleeping as much as needed, etc. It's crazy to me to think that there are still people who don't think these things could have huge systemic effects that impact the entire aging/disease process.