4 ms·

physical appearance is one of the most informative indicators of health.

text0404 2y ago
this is easily falsifiable, since many diseases are internal: heart disease, low/high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer. also, most mental health issues do not present external indicators. bruce lee was at peak physical performance when he dropped dead. you could smoke cigarettes and take adderall nonstop and still look "healthy".
- edgarischatting 2y ago
  Exactly. She's also gone through cancer.
troyvit 2y ago
Physical appearance is also an informative indicator of age. Care to expand on what you think a 63 year old woman is supposed to look like? Any examples from Hollywood or Greek mythology that match what you're looking for here?
- tonymet 2y ago
  We all know what a healthy person looks like from toddler's age. It takes mental gymnastics to argue otherwise. The fact that we can only think of a couple examples of obviously fit folks who had health problems, like the other chap tried to do, is an exception that proves the rule. Do yourself a favor and try to break away from the overly legislative mindset. Meaning is not bounded by words and definitions. The things that matter -- like true love, peace, happiness, health, contentment, and more-- are not bounded by rules and definitions. We all know those things when we see them. If someone presents themselves as an authority on health issues and how to cope with them, they should obviously be healthy.
  - smallmouth 2y ago
    Your post has great insight. I would just take ever so slight exception to your final paragraph based on two physicians I know that are 8n bad shape medically through no fault of their own. ;-)
    - tonymet 2y ago
      Nothing in life is deterministic. That doesn't preclude things having meaning.
  - troyvit 2y ago
    Really? Nah. What does a 63 year old healthy single woman look like? What about a 63 year old woman who had four kids? What about a 63 year old woman who beat stage IV metastatic melanoma?[1] A "healthy" 63 year old person is going to look mighty different depending on the curves life threw them. So is it not overly legislative to bind a person's health choices to their looks when you don't have the whole story? I can look at her (and listen to her) and see healthy mind behind a body that has done decades of hard work. I hope that you can too someday. [1] http://www.gregcons.com/KateBlog/SurvivingIncurableCancer.aspx http://www.gregcons.com/KateBlog/SurvivingIncurableCancer.as...
    - wakawaka28 2y ago
      >So is it not overly legislative to bind a person's health choices to their looks when you don't have the whole story? No, it is overly pedantic to argue with someone making a basic and reasonable statement that someone looks overweight and would probably do better if they lost weight. Being overweight contributes to all kinds of joint pain and diabetes (which causes a lot of other physical and even mental problems). Maybe this woman is a natural oddity that can be in peak health and also significantly overweight at an old age, but odds are against it.
      - troyvit 2y ago
        Hey, champ, way to jump in with an unrelated "no, but". At the start of this thread the person chose to marginalize this speaker and what she had to say because she appears "15 years older than they should be." Then they failed to give any representation of what a 63 year old woman _should_ look like, let alone a 63 year old cancer survivor. So to avoid being pedantic I'll just call it what it is: ageism.

this is easily falsifiable, since many diseases are internal: heart disease, low/high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer. also, most mental health issues do not present external indicators. bruce lee was at peak physical performance when he dropped dead. you could smoke cigarettes and take adderall nonstop and still look "healthy".

edgarischatting 2y ago
Exactly. She's also gone through cancer.

troyvit 2y ago

Physical appearance is also an informative indicator of age. Care to expand on what you think a 63 year old woman is supposed to look like? Any examples from Hollywood or Greek mythology that match what you're looking for here?

tonymet 2y ago
We all know what a healthy person looks like from toddler's age. It takes mental gymnastics to argue otherwise. The fact that we can only think of a couple examples of obviously fit folks who had health problems, like the other chap tried to do, is an exception that proves the rule. Do yourself a favor and try to break away from the overly legislative mindset. Meaning is not bounded by words and definitions. The things that matter -- like true love, peace, happiness, health, contentment, and more-- are not bounded by rules and definitions. We all know those things when we see them. If someone presents themselves as an authority on health issues and how to cope with them, they should obviously be healthy.
- smallmouth 2y ago
  Your post has great insight. I would just take ever so slight exception to your final paragraph based on two physicians I know that are 8n bad shape medically through no fault of their own. ;-)
  - tonymet 2y ago
    Nothing in life is deterministic. That doesn't preclude things having meaning.
- troyvit 2y ago
  Really? Nah. What does a 63 year old healthy single woman look like? What about a 63 year old woman who had four kids? What about a 63 year old woman who beat stage IV metastatic melanoma?[1] A "healthy" 63 year old person is going to look mighty different depending on the curves life threw them. So is it not overly legislative to bind a person's health choices to their looks when you don't have the whole story? I can look at her (and listen to her) and see healthy mind behind a body that has done decades of hard work. I hope that you can too someday. [1] http://www.gregcons.com/KateBlog/SurvivingIncurableCancer.aspx http://www.gregcons.com/KateBlog/SurvivingIncurableCancer.as...
  - wakawaka28 2y ago
    >So is it not overly legislative to bind a person's health choices to their looks when you don't have the whole story? No, it is overly pedantic to argue with someone making a basic and reasonable statement that someone looks overweight and would probably do better if they lost weight. Being overweight contributes to all kinds of joint pain and diabetes (which causes a lot of other physical and even mental problems). Maybe this woman is a natural oddity that can be in peak health and also significantly overweight at an old age, but odds are against it.
    - troyvit 2y ago
      Hey, champ, way to jump in with an unrelated "no, but". At the start of this thread the person chose to marginalize this speaker and what she had to say because she appears "15 years older than they should be." Then they failed to give any representation of what a 63 year old woman _should_ look like, let alone a 63 year old cancer survivor. So to avoid being pedantic I'll just call it what it is: ageism.