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It's clear to me that perhaps it was also that the experts understanding of the science that was wrong as well. Therefore perhaps these "scams" weren't scams bu
by NoPicklez 1y ago
It's clear to me that perhaps it was also that the experts understanding of the science that was wrong as well. Therefore perhaps these "scams" weren't scams but a product developed based on science that was promoted and later corrected.
In the linkedin post where the team unveiled their documentary they quote the involvement of the author of Why We Sleep (great book) and the decades of sleep research, who in their famous book actually did say that blue light impacts melatonin and is crucial for sleep, he even promoted blue light blocking filters. He later retracted that statement and changed his stance.
So were bluelight blocking glasses a scam, or perhaps a product that was informed by a misunderstanding of science. If I read a book based on a renowned sleep scientist who promoted blue light filters and I made glasses to help block blue light, if that understanding of science changed, am I a scammer?
If this is in fact true then this goes against any product or feature that markets reducing blue light such as not to impact sleep. Extending to include Apples marketing of Night Shift.
- pedalpete 1y agoThat's a fair point, but there never was evidence for blue-light blocking glasses, and that is what scientific rigor requires. If you continue to shill the blue-light blocking glasses when it is known that they do not do anything, then yes, you're a scammer.
- NoPicklez 1y agoThe thing is that there is such an enormous amount of research in this area regarding blue light and its impact on melatonin. So I am quite surprised its considered a scam, for over a decade and even when I went to University did a subject on sleep psychology it was believed that blue light impacted melatonin, which impacted sleep, either directly or indirectly. Unless I am misunderstanding this, this goes against almost every area in which we recommended reducing blue light. Heck Apple market it with their Night Shift function "Studies have shown that exposure to bright blue light in the evening can affect your circadian rhythms and make it harder to fall asleep." However I agree if you continue to market a product after knowing better than its a scam. But can you also trust the evidence that backtracks science we have considered to be true for so long. You could understand peoples skepticism initially to it being bogus.
- pedalpete 1y agoYou are correct that blue-light impacts melatonin. This brought people to two conclusions which were proven wrong long ago. 1) the drop in melatonin delays sleep onset, or disrupts sleep 2) wearing blue-light blocking glasses prevents this drop in melatonin. Bright lights decrease melatonin, the decrease is not large enough to have a significant impact on sleep. Therefore, the blocking of blue-light is unnecessary, and it has never been shown to have an impact on melatonin either.
- shaldengeki 1y agoYou may be interested to read that the Why We Sleep guy committed research misconduct in the book. Guy is totally unrepentant about it. https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2020/03/24/why-we-sleep-a-tale-of-institutional-failure/ https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2020/03/24/why-we-sle...
- pedalpete 1y agoI'm not a huge fan of Dr Walker, and we actually compete with the company he is a "co-founder" of, but I think saying he committed research misconduct is going a bit far. Misconduct is probably overstating it, and he wrote a popular book, which increased awareness of sleep health.
- shaldengeki 1y agoI appreciate your position, but the record is pretty clear; his actions clearly meet Berkeley's own definition of research misconduct.
- ddalex 1y agoDid he publish falsified data in a peer review science journal, or did he publish re-interpreted graphs in a scientific literature book intended for the public at large ?