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Rob Rhinehart's bio starts: "Rob is a Y Combinator alumnus with professional experience in electrical engineering, computer science and entrepreneurship." If h

by chasing 13y ago

Rob Rhinehart's bio starts: "Rob is a Y Combinator alumnus with professional experience in electrical engineering, computer science and entrepreneurship." If he had some powerful degree in nutrition or a medical degree, it would be mentioned in this sentence. It's not. He doesn't. And he's not experimenting on himself. He's selling a product that he's advertising as a food replacement with all sorts of health benefits. As far as "it's cool if a few people get sick..." Are you insane?

jamesaguilar 13y ago
The person I'm responding to claimed that he learned the science from Reddit. I am not claiming he learned it in medical school. I'm claiming that there's no evidence he got it from Reddit. > As far as "it's cool if a few people get sick..." Are you insane? They know what they are getting themselves into. I don't have any problem with people who choose to binge drink or the alcohol manufacturers that sell that product. If people know what they are getting themselves into -- and they'd have to go out of their way to not know with this product -- I'm normally OK with the outcome. Especially if the probable worst-case outcome is a few months of suboptimal nutrition followed by a return to a normal diet. Nope, not insane.
- chasing 13y ago
  Really? I've got to explain the difference between something touted as a health supplement / meal replacement and booze? (Which, if you'll notice, is covered in warnings and regulated out the wazoo.)
  - jamesaguilar 13y ago
    > I've got to explain the difference between . . . My point is merely that I'm fine with people choosing to do risky things as long as the risk involved is obvious. I'd be a little more comfortable with this campaign page if they made slightly less grandiose promises, but for the most part I think the people ordering it will be aware of the shallowness of the testing so far and can decide for themselves if that is a risk they are willing to accept.
    - chasing 13y ago
      Despite my snark, I do understand what you're saying. It's the "as long as the risk involved is obvious" part that bothers me. Soylent has had a presence on sites like Hacker News, so we kind of know what it's about. But not everyone does. And I really do believe that honest food labeling is very, very important. They're passing this off as a cure. That's what really irks me. None of the presentation I've seen so far communicates "participate in our experiment!" It's all stuff like "For anyone who struggles with allergies, heartburn, acid reflux or digestion, has trouble controlling weight or cholesterol, or simply doesn't have the means to eat well, soylent is for you." That's a health claim they simple can't back up in any reasonable way. And it's a claim that many people are likely to assume is true! Not everyone will dig into the site and see that Rhinehart has a background in engineering, not nutrition, and that these claims haven't actually been backed up at all. You and I might know to do that, but many people won't. Which is why we have food labeling laws in the first place.
      - jamesaguilar 13y ago
        I agree that that sentence is very unfortunate. It's in total contradiction to what they say below, which is that Soylent has not been evaluated by the FDA to treat any disease.
- DanBC 13y ago
  > and they'd have to go out of their way to not know with this product Can you show me where "experimental" is used on the crowd-funding page? (https://campaign.soylent.me/soylent-free-your-body https://campaign.soylent.me/soylent-free-your-body)

by chasing 13y ago

jamesaguilar 13y ago

The person I'm responding to claimed that he learned the science from Reddit. I am not claiming he learned it in medical school. I'm claiming that there's no evidence he got it from Reddit. > As far as "it's cool if a few people get sick..." Are you insane? They know what they are getting themselves into. I don't have any problem with people who choose to binge drink or the alcohol manufacturers that sell that product. If people know what they are getting themselves into -- and they'd have to go out of their way to not know with this product -- I'm normally OK with the outcome. Especially if the probable worst-case outcome is a few months of suboptimal nutrition followed by a return to a normal diet. Nope, not insane.

chasing 13y ago
Really? I've got to explain the difference between something touted as a health supplement / meal replacement and booze? (Which, if you'll notice, is covered in warnings and regulated out the wazoo.)
- jamesaguilar 13y ago
  > I've got to explain the difference between . . . My point is merely that I'm fine with people choosing to do risky things as long as the risk involved is obvious. I'd be a little more comfortable with this campaign page if they made slightly less grandiose promises, but for the most part I think the people ordering it will be aware of the shallowness of the testing so far and can decide for themselves if that is a risk they are willing to accept.
  - chasing 13y ago
    Despite my snark, I do understand what you're saying. It's the "as long as the risk involved is obvious" part that bothers me. Soylent has had a presence on sites like Hacker News, so we kind of know what it's about. But not everyone does. And I really do believe that honest food labeling is very, very important. They're passing this off as a cure. That's what really irks me. None of the presentation I've seen so far communicates "participate in our experiment!" It's all stuff like "For anyone who struggles with allergies, heartburn, acid reflux or digestion, has trouble controlling weight or cholesterol, or simply doesn't have the means to eat well, soylent is for you." That's a health claim they simple can't back up in any reasonable way. And it's a claim that many people are likely to assume is true! Not everyone will dig into the site and see that Rhinehart has a background in engineering, not nutrition, and that these claims haven't actually been backed up at all. You and I might know to do that, but many people won't. Which is why we have food labeling laws in the first place.
    - jamesaguilar 13y ago
      I agree that that sentence is very unfortunate. It's in total contradiction to what they say below, which is that Soylent has not been evaluated by the FDA to treat any disease.
DanBC 13y ago
> and they'd have to go out of their way to not know with this product Can you show me where "experimental" is used on the crowd-funding page? (https://campaign.soylent.me/soylent-free-your-body https://campaign.soylent.me/soylent-free-your-body)