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It benefited the wheat farmers and "Big Ag" so there was possibly political pressure to focus on this.

• yetanotherphd 13y ago
  What about "Big Dairy" or "Big Meat", they got the short end of the stick from the push to high carb low fat diets. Industry lobbying as a theory lacks predictive power.
  • mistermann 13y ago
    Perhaps their lobbyists aren't as convincing. This is the second time I've encountered the phrase "lacks predictive power on HN tonight" by the way. Is a theory without predictive power now considered wrong?
    • voidlogic 13y ago
      IMHO if it doesn't have predictive power it cannot be a theory: the·o·ry noun \ˈthē-ə-rē, ˈthir-ē\ : an idea or set of ideas that is intended to explain facts or events
      • swombat 13y ago
        Explanation and prediction are two different things. Your definition doesn't even require explanation - it just requires intent to explain. So for example, "the moon is made of cheese" is a theory according to the definition you just quoted. It's an idea that is intended to explain the composition of the moon.