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I think it's even better to read the comments after reading the article. Here's a possible flow: 1. Read the article 2. Analyze. Establish your position/belie

I think it's even better to read the comments after reading the article. Here's a possible flow: 1. Read the article 2. Analyze. Establish your position/beliefs 3. Read the comments 4. Adjust your beliefs in the light of new evidence :)

anigbrowl 13y ago
I'm not in a position to do step 2 on this subject, as I'm not sufficiently into nutrition or medicine or judge the claims in the article independently, and for a non peer-reviewed source addressing what looks like a food fad, there's a good chance that it won't be worth my time to repair that deficiency.
- oblique63 13y ago
  I believe the parent's point wasn't the accuracy of the information you'd be receiving, but just the exercise of evaluating conflicting viewpoints and coming out more enlightened as a result of it. Believe it or not, being able to apply that anywhere (as opposed to just thinking you can) is a skill, and skills need practice. It's an important part of thinking critically, and it can easily be lacking in a lot of very smart people. EDIT: It wasn't my intention to offend if that was the reason behind the downvotes. It wasn't about anybody specifically, I was just trying to elaborate on a slippery slope issue that seems to be common among smart people.
  - plainOldText 13y ago
    I think you've captured the essence of the point I was trying to make, well.
  - anigbrowl 13y ago
    Fascinating.
hcarvalhoalves 13y ago
OT: Often I read HN comments before reading the article, it helps to filter the BS off.
- anfedorov 13y ago
  I almost skipped the article because of the top comment, but he says a lot more than the comment addresses, so it's worth reading nonetheless.
- jonnathanson 13y ago
  That, and briefly glancing at the outbound URL before clicking the link. In this case, my logical progression was: 1) "Hmm, that title looks interesting." 2) "Oh, it's by Tim Ferriss." 3) "Skepticism shields up!" I have nothing against Tim Ferriss in general. I think he's an interesting character, and in a weird way, he's to be commended for his exceptional skill at self promotion. He's sort of our generation's equivalent of P.T. Barnum. And occasionally he'll even make a really insightful point. But I take at least 70% of what he says with a grain of salt.

anigbrowl 13y ago

I'm not in a position to do step 2 on this subject, as I'm not sufficiently into nutrition or medicine or judge the claims in the article independently, and for a non peer-reviewed source addressing what looks like a food fad, there's a good chance that it won't be worth my time to repair that deficiency.

oblique63 13y ago
I believe the parent's point wasn't the accuracy of the information you'd be receiving, but just the exercise of evaluating conflicting viewpoints and coming out more enlightened as a result of it. Believe it or not, being able to apply that anywhere (as opposed to just thinking you can) is a skill, and skills need practice. It's an important part of thinking critically, and it can easily be lacking in a lot of very smart people. EDIT: It wasn't my intention to offend if that was the reason behind the downvotes. It wasn't about anybody specifically, I was just trying to elaborate on a slippery slope issue that seems to be common among smart people.
- plainOldText 13y ago
  I think you've captured the essence of the point I was trying to make, well.
- anigbrowl 13y ago
  Fascinating.

hcarvalhoalves 13y ago

OT: Often I read HN comments before reading the article, it helps to filter the BS off.

anfedorov 13y ago
I almost skipped the article because of the top comment, but he says a lot more than the comment addresses, so it's worth reading nonetheless.
jonnathanson 13y ago
That, and briefly glancing at the outbound URL before clicking the link. In this case, my logical progression was: 1) "Hmm, that title looks interesting." 2) "Oh, it's by Tim Ferriss." 3) "Skepticism shields up!" I have nothing against Tim Ferriss in general. I think he's an interesting character, and in a weird way, he's to be commended for his exceptional skill at self promotion. He's sort of our generation's equivalent of P.T. Barnum. And occasionally he'll even make a really insightful point. But I take at least 70% of what he says with a grain of salt.