4 ms·

Thats like saying that doing rain dances can't hurt and might bring rain. If you can't link the two its really not worth doing. Sure vitamins might not do harm

by mitchty 12y ago

Thats like saying that doing rain dances can't hurt and might bring rain. If you can't link the two its really not worth doing. Sure vitamins might not do harm (this is questionable), but that doesn't mean they are doing anything productive. Also its just wasteful money wise. Why spend N dollars a year on something that has about as much evidence to back it up as a placebo pill?

Retric 12y ago
As the article says large random controlled studies demonstrate taking vitamins lower your risk of death. In what way is that like a rain dance? PS: Well assuming your an elderly woman taking vitamin D.
lincolnq 12y ago
I guess it depends on your credibility thresholds. I take vitamin D because some studies say it's good for you, none say it's bad, and some people on the internet report subjective cognitive & mood enhancement. It costs me around $5/year. Sure, it might be doing nothing. But even a subtle cognitive or mood enhancement would easily be worth two orders of magnitude more than that, so I only have to think there's a 1% chance of a tiny effect before it becomes worth it.
jjoonathan 12y ago
I think P(rain dances bring rain) is several orders of magnitude smaller than P(diet goes to shit, experience some weird deficiency). Is $20/yr really so much to pay for peace of mind that you aren't slowly degrading your bones or something?
lorddoig 12y ago
> Thats like saying that doing rain dances can't hurt and might bring rain. ...and make rain dancers happy, to complete your simile. Or at least stop them being sad because some douche from the internet came along and ruined their party: "Stop your harmless activity and live by my idea of what your life should be like! Schnell!" > If you can't link the two its really not worth doing. There's a link between my fondness for gambling and the reduction of my bank balance. Is it still worth it? Absolutely. I get a kick. We all have our own apparent idiosyncrasies.
- DanBC 12y ago
  Taking vitamins is not always harmless. The "antioxidant" stuff is mostly bullshit; vitamin A is toxic in overdose; some vitamins make some cancers worse; etc. It wouldn't be so bad if the raindancing was free, but it's expensive and pushed by massive corporations making a quick buck off ignorance and fear.

by mitchty 12y ago

Retric 12y ago

As the article says large random controlled studies demonstrate taking vitamins lower your risk of death. In what way is that like a rain dance? PS: Well assuming your an elderly woman taking vitamin D.

lincolnq 12y ago

I guess it depends on your credibility thresholds. I take vitamin D because some studies say it's good for you, none say it's bad, and some people on the internet report subjective cognitive & mood enhancement. It costs me around $5/year. Sure, it might be doing nothing. But even a subtle cognitive or mood enhancement would easily be worth two orders of magnitude more than that, so I only have to think there's a 1% chance of a tiny effect before it becomes worth it.

jjoonathan 12y ago

I think P(rain dances bring rain) is several orders of magnitude smaller than P(diet goes to shit, experience some weird deficiency). Is $20/yr really so much to pay for peace of mind that you aren't slowly degrading your bones or something?

lorddoig 12y ago

> Thats like saying that doing rain dances can't hurt and might bring rain. ...and make rain dancers happy, to complete your simile. Or at least stop them being sad because some douche from the internet came along and ruined their party: "Stop your harmless activity and live by my idea of what your life should be like! Schnell!" > If you can't link the two its really not worth doing. There's a link between my fondness for gambling and the reduction of my bank balance. Is it still worth it? Absolutely. I get a kick. We all have our own apparent idiosyncrasies.

DanBC 12y ago
Taking vitamins is not always harmless. The "antioxidant" stuff is mostly bullshit; vitamin A is toxic in overdose; some vitamins make some cancers worse; etc. It wouldn't be so bad if the raindancing was free, but it's expensive and pushed by massive corporations making a quick buck off ignorance and fear.