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Responding to any discussing about weight loss with that phrase fits the description.

ASalazarMX 5y ago
Specially because humans can't eat all matter. All calories come out, but some are undigested and don't contribute to nutrition.
flurie 5y ago
Continued, sustained discussion predicated on the phrase itself rather seems to disprove your point, doesn't it? Additionally, from the link: > Bennett explains that exceptions are made to the use of phrases, that would otherwise be considered thought-terminating if they are used in addition to evidence or strong claims.
- smorgusofborg 5y ago
  When I hear sports discussions they don't spend a lot of time reminding us that everything is subject to the same gravity. If some jackasses did it would become a thought terminating cliché, and eventually we would be breaking out of it, but it would be tainting the direction of each discussion from the point where it was invoked.
  - flurie 5y ago
    Interestingly, I find myself subject to the opposite quite often. It's a common cliché in the US to describe superlative athletic ability as "defying gravity." Would you consider that a thought-terminating cliché? I'm happy to continue to discuss this with you, but I would ask that you please refrain from name calling.
  - kazoomonger 5y ago
    I think this analogy doesn't quite hold, as you don't have athletes saying "I can't throw as far as you because of gravity", whereas you really do have people making ridiculous claims when it comes to weight loss.
strbean 5y ago
When dealing with addiction, more thinking often ends in better rationalizations for addictive behavior. For that reason, I'm not sure "Thought-Terminating" is inherently a bad thing. Anecdotally, I've seen tons of people fight through different fad diets with no success. They spend tons of time talking about ways to trick their metabolisms, naturalistic arguments about what to eat and not eat, etc. Perhaps they would be more successful if they stopped over-thinking and focussed purely on reducing their portion sizes and increasing their exercise. Again anecdotally, it seems like usually exercise is emphasized along with diet at first, but quickly gets dropped. Within a couple weeks, the fad diet is forgotten as well.
only_as_i_fall 5y ago
Does it? Weight loss methods include a lot of pseudo science and I think it's important to keep in mind that whatever low fat or low carb or paleo diet you try is ultimately only going to succeed if you lower your calorie intake or raise your calorie expenditure. Obviously there are some exceptions to that rule if you aren't accounting for changes in calorie absorption or bmr, but everything I've seen or read seems to show that those variations are miniscule.

Specially because humans can't eat all matter. All calories come out, but some are undigested and don't contribute to nutrition.

flurie 5y ago

Continued, sustained discussion predicated on the phrase itself rather seems to disprove your point, doesn't it? Additionally, from the link: > Bennett explains that exceptions are made to the use of phrases, that would otherwise be considered thought-terminating if they are used in addition to evidence or strong claims.

smorgusofborg 5y ago
When I hear sports discussions they don't spend a lot of time reminding us that everything is subject to the same gravity. If some jackasses did it would become a thought terminating cliché, and eventually we would be breaking out of it, but it would be tainting the direction of each discussion from the point where it was invoked.
- flurie 5y ago
  Interestingly, I find myself subject to the opposite quite often. It's a common cliché in the US to describe superlative athletic ability as "defying gravity." Would you consider that a thought-terminating cliché? I'm happy to continue to discuss this with you, but I would ask that you please refrain from name calling.
- kazoomonger 5y ago
  I think this analogy doesn't quite hold, as you don't have athletes saying "I can't throw as far as you because of gravity", whereas you really do have people making ridiculous claims when it comes to weight loss.

strbean 5y ago

When dealing with addiction, more thinking often ends in better rationalizations for addictive behavior. For that reason, I'm not sure "Thought-Terminating" is inherently a bad thing. Anecdotally, I've seen tons of people fight through different fad diets with no success. They spend tons of time talking about ways to trick their metabolisms, naturalistic arguments about what to eat and not eat, etc. Perhaps they would be more successful if they stopped over-thinking and focussed purely on reducing their portion sizes and increasing their exercise. Again anecdotally, it seems like usually exercise is emphasized along with diet at first, but quickly gets dropped. Within a couple weeks, the fad diet is forgotten as well.

only_as_i_fall 5y ago

Does it? Weight loss methods include a lot of pseudo science and I think it's important to keep in mind that whatever low fat or low carb or paleo diet you try is ultimately only going to succeed if you lower your calorie intake or raise your calorie expenditure. Obviously there are some exceptions to that rule if you aren't accounting for changes in calorie absorption or bmr, but everything I've seen or read seems to show that those variations are miniscule.