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Shush, they have plenty of testimonials from real customers saying it works. Soylent is a true superfood unlike scams like acai berry juice. Solves long stand
by fleitz 13y ago
Shush, they have plenty of testimonials from real customers saying it works.
Soylent is a true superfood unlike scams like acai berry juice.
Solves long standing dietary issues that have gone unsolved by modern medicine? Check.
Helps you lose weight? Check.
Saves time and money? Check.
Testimonials? Check.
Even people with sciency sounding backgrounds think it's good! Let me just get out my credit card and sign up for a subscription. Good bye difficult exercise and time spent preparing healthy meals, hello easy street.
- stinkytaco 13y agoOK, so I like cooking and eating food. I think soylent is a scam, or at the very least just another in a long line of unappetizing "diet replacement shakes". But just allow me a moment to conduct a thought experiment, or at least play devil's advocate. For years you've been walking to get where you are going and you've been plowing your fields with a couple of very high maintenance animals that are costly and risky. You've been walking out to their stalls and feeding, cleaning and otherwise dedicating lots of time and money to them. It's a lot of work. One day along comes a guy with a machine that replaces animals. Not only will it replace animals in your fields, the same machine will replace walking to get where you're going. A neighbor got it and he swears by it. Saves time and money? Check. Solves long standing issues that have gone unsolved by modern technology? Check. Helps you produce more in your fields and make more money? Check. Say goodbye to expensive and time consuming animals and sore feet, hello easy street.
- Joona 13y agoYou are not forced to do anything.
- stinkytaco 13y agoDid you mean this reply for me? Because I don't recall mentioning forcing someone to do something. I'm just saying that one could apply a similar thought process to tools that have changed the world in radical ways, like the internal combustion engine, steam power, precision machining, electricity, etc. I understand that skepticism and in this case I share it, the number of inventions that have actually made radical changes to our world is infinitesimally small compared to the number that claim to, but the same reasoning could be applied to many past developments.
- fleitz 13y agoThe breaking of bread is one of the most important social aspects of humanity. Soylent is perfect for the disconnected from humanity factory worker. I fully appreciate that it's cheaper than food, and might be nutritionally healthy for you. Mental healthwise, it seems like a disaster.
- stinkytaco 13y agoOff topic but, I think that really gets to the core of our problems with food in western culture. Sharing food is the only bodily function we share publically. We don't use the bathroom together. We generally sleep and procreate in private with select people. We don't give play by plays of our breathing or hygiene, even if they are technically public. But food, food is such a powerful cultural symbol that we share it with our loved ones and even complete strangers. The power of food is so great that it's the centerpiece of many cultural touchstones (the harvest festival, the sacrifice, the fertility ritual). We talk about the food our grandparents made in tones so reverential it might as well be religion. But when we get our lunch we get food in our cars and eat it alone. It was prepared by someone we didn't see and will never know. Not that long ago even convenience food was prepared by a person we knew. I realize that most of us don't do this every day or even most days, but certainly the rise of eating as an exercise of convenience and driven strictly by our taste buds has coincided with the rise of our fat society. I know that correlation does not equal causation, but in this case it seems likely to me that one has led to the other. We've already started to disconnect from our food in dangerous ways. Why not add a new meal replacement if it's healthier? And it's not like the internal combustion engine made us a bunch healthier either.
- fleitz 13y agoExactly, the food our grandparents made was religious or ritual in nature, think about it... Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc, etc. Even the 4th of July is marked by BBQ. As you said, last supper, last meal, sacrement. Culture is food.
- pyrocat 13y agoHow many meals in week do you eat alone? How many with other people? I think most people will simply use this product to replace the meals they'd eat alone, and still go out for food with friends. As a bachelor who eats out almost every meal, including the lunches and dinners when I eat alone. This sounds perfect for saving money and thus leaving more money to spend when I go out with friends.
- jacalata 13y agoBreaks down and you have no idea how to fix it and have to hand over cash to the guy you bought it from, because your generations of accumulated animal husbandry knowledge is now useless? Does not magically replace itself with newer models like your farm animals did? Introduces new and unexpected dangers like a blade that accidentally cuts off your childs hand, because while you and your children are very familiar with the dangers of farm animals, machinery is totally unfamiliar? Check, check, check...
- stinkytaco 13y agoYes, like I said, I was playing devil's advocate. But I would be willing to bet you own a car and it's a significant part of your lifestyle. And if you don't I'd still take that bet with every adult I talk to and come out ahead. I'm also willing to bet that your car has a negative impact on your health and the environment (from the atmosphere to the planning of your city). My point is that world changing inventions do occur (rarely) and they are met with skepticism.
- jacalata 13y agoWhile I agree that you would normally win that bet, I am the one you'd lose it on - I have never owned a car and take the bus every day instead ;) My point, I think, was that even if an idea is good and worth introducing, transitions are hard and shouldn't be handwaved away.