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io9: 10 Pseudo-Science Theories We'd Like to See Retired Forever


PF Chang

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Focusing on #1 from their list -- because if you are under 30 and have not heard a girlfriend or her friends talking about some "cleanse," I'd like to know how you accomplished that. 

 

 

 

 

1. "Toxins"

Here is a scientific definition for a toxin: It's a poisonous substance produced by living cells, especially one that, when introduced into a new body, spurs the creation of antibodies. That's a toxin. That's what it is, where it's made, and what it does.

Here is a definition for a "toxin": It's a mysterious bad thing that's in all the stuff I don't like. I don't know what it actually looks like, or its chemical composition. I don't know exactly how it's produced. I don't know the precise process it sets off in the body. I only know that it definitely, definitely causes the awful thing that I always thought would, and indeed should, happen to people doing stuff I don't like.

We need to step on the idea of "toxins." We need to step on it until it's dead. We're not going stop people from blasting woo at us any time we eat anything that's not kale or live anywhere that's not the windswept peak of a mountain, but with concerted effort, we can at least make them sound ridiculous when they do it. I think the new term for toxins should be "evil pixie dust."

 

 

http://io9.com/10-pseudo-science-theories-wed-like-to-see-retired-fore-1592128908/all

 

 

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Not sure what the point of that is ... read through the article and a lot of it makes sense ... but I'm not sure the argument against using the word "toxin" necessarily means we shouldn't be concerned by what we put in our bodies.

 

And some of the chemicals in food today are, more or less, bad for your body and digestive system and thus your health. There's a direct link between our food production habits and our health. Limiting these chemicals is a good thing, whether you choose to call them toxins or not.

 

I find that most people that hate on healthy eating do so because they're jealous and/or paranoid of their current eating habits. I speak from experience, because 3-4 years ago I didn't eat well ... and I changed up my lifestyle and have never been healthier or felt better ... but I put up a lot of resistance to it and hated on those who chose to eat that way. It's simply a factor of jealousy/guilt on your part if you want to  hate on people that choose to embark on these healthier eating habits ... aka limiting or eliminating "toxins"

 

Again, not sure if that's your point here ... but mainly responding to your "cleanse" claim. 

 

In fact, just did a 3 day juice cleans. I've never felt better. I can't get the protein I need from a juice cleans to fit my lifting habits, but every once in a while it's a good option to flush your system out. 

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I love the tone of that article.

 

:D

 

I also read in the comments that #11 should be the comment about we only use 10% of our brains. Here is an article dispelling the myth.

 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-people-only-use-10-percent-of-their-brains/

 

I think I just saw a movie preview about Scarlett Johanssen going out of control with brain use.

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Not sure what the point of that is ... read through the article and a lot of it makes sense ... but I'm not sure the argument against using the word "toxin" necessarily means we shouldn't be concerned by what we put in our bodies.

 

And some of the chemicals in food today are, more or less, bad for your body and digestive system and thus your health. There's a direct link between our food production habits and our health. Limiting these chemicals is a good thing, whether you choose to call them toxins or not.

 

I find that most people that hate on healthy eating do so because they're jealous and/or paranoid of their current eating habits. I speak from experience, because 3-4 years ago I didn't eat well ... and I changed up my lifestyle and have never been healthier or felt better ... but I put up a lot of resistance to it and hated on those who chose to eat that way. It's simply a factor of jealousy/guilt on your part if you want to  hate on people that choose to embark on these healthier eating habits ... aka limiting or eliminating "toxins"

 

Again, not sure if that's your point here ... but mainly responding to your "cleanse" claim. 

 

In fact, just did a 3 day juice cleans. I've never felt better. I can't get the protein I need from a juice cleans to fit my lifting habits, but every once in a while it's a good option to flush your system out. 

 

Well of course you will feel better if you eat better. Thinking that "toxins" and cleanses are BS does not mean that I am against healthy eating. 

 

To me, it seems like you started eating better, or being more conscious about what you eat, and credit feeling good to a cleanse. And if it does make you feel better I say go for it, I'm not hostile to the idea. I don't know what your cleanse was all about, nor do I have the scientific background to judge. I actually made the thread hoping that someone who is qualified would comment/enlighten. But as far as I can tell there is no scientific basis behind the idea of "cleansing," "toxins," and the idea that you are going to "flush your system out" with these methods. 

 

I notice that many people end up buying some sort of cleanse diet package from modern snake oil salesmen. A giant red flag. 

 

Those Power Balance wristbands made people feel better too, it doesn't mean that the bands are the real reason. 

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I notice that many people end up buying some sort of cleanse diet package from modern snake oil salesmen. A giant red flag. 

 

Those Power Balance wristbands made people feel better too, it doesn't mean that the bands are the real reason. 

This I can agree with. I think there are some modern day snake-oil types of cleanses ... but a true cleanse is essentially limiting your food intake to vegetables and fruit for a couple days. It can be miserable if you do it for longer, because your body will literally revolt lol. But yeah ... I guess my point was don't hate on Kale and juice cleanses ... and I might just be over sensitive to it because I have some friends who have made fun of my healthy eating ... but they're also the ones eating grease and overweight, hence why I think in the end it's a jealousy/insecurity issue. BUT, I know that's not what your post was about. 

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This I can agree with. I think there are some modern day snake-oil types of cleanses ... but a true cleanse is essentially limiting your food intake to vegetables and fruit for a couple days. It can be miserable if you do it for longer, because your body will literally revolt lol. But yeah ... I guess my point was don't hate on Kale and juice cleanses ... and I might just be over sensitive to it because I have some friends who have made fun of my healthy eating ... but they're also the ones eating grease and overweight, hence why I think in the end it's a jealousy/insecurity issue. BUT, I know that's not what your post was about. 

 

Gotcha -- I see where you're coming from, on my end I become skeptical because people I know are always chasing fad diets. I try to control how much of my worldview is shaped by observation of people I know, but it's tough. For me, I cut down drinking to one day a week for health, and I definitely get **** from friends for it so I know how you feel there. 

 

This is making me miss college, where I could wake up at 10 am on a Tuesday and walk 2 minutes to the gym for two hours. 

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This is making me miss college, where I could wake up at 10 am on a Tuesday and walk 2 minutes to the gym for two hours. 

 

Man those really were the days. Life was so much easier haha. Fortunately I like working out ... but most people can't handle working from 9-5 and going to the gym from 530-7 pm or before work from 630-8.

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The pseudo scientific explanations given by the makers of Phiten necklaces that major league baseball players wear fit into this category.

 

xcole-hamels.jpg.pagespeed.ic.SK0tO43iDy

 

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704335904574497463498601986?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052748704335904574497463498601986.html

 

I guess you could include wearing a cross too..but then that would open a whole new can of worms.

 

:P

 

I give Phiten wearing people a pass because if it works for them (and perhaps it does because they get a placebo effect), then whose to argue. Plus, I kind of like how the necklaces and wristbands look. Plus plus, baseball players are extremely superstitious. Seriously, they will try any crackpot thing if it gets them hits or wins.

 

But - yeah, the science behind it is snake oil, imho.

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This I can agree with. I think there are some modern day snake-oil types of cleanses ... but a true cleanse is essentially limiting your food intake to vegetables and fruit for a couple days. It can be miserable if you do it for longer, because your body will literally revolt lol. But yeah ... I guess my point was don't hate on Kale and juice cleanses ... and I might just be over sensitive to it because I have some friends who have made fun of my healthy eating ... but they're also the ones eating grease and overweight, hence why I think in the end it's a jealousy/insecurity issue. BUT, I know that's not what your post was about.

The point, as I read it was not hating on kale or healthy eating, but the idea that use of the common misconception of what a toxin really is.
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I'm not a fan of the term "Pseudo Science", which implies it's at least somewhat scientific, and I'm certainly not a fan of calling these things "theories".

Maybe "theory" in its contemporary use should be #11 (all good things go to 11), because theory as we've seen it too many times especially in certain debates is used to mean "any idea used to explain something that hasn't been proved absolutely." Therefore any other "theory" (read: crackpot idea or religious claim) must be weighted equally.

I guess you could include wearing a cross too..but then that would open a whole new can of worms.

Anyone wearing a cross as some sort of talisman needs to be slapped. Thankfully, I've only met a couple people that needed slapped....for that particular reason.

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haha...jealous of your eating habits...haha.

 

That's ridiculous. For you to feel that way shows your insecurity, not theirs. Clearly they don't give a damn about what they are eating. I get the feeling you take a dump on your friends for what they eat and they respond back to tease you about what you eat. I could easily be wrong though.

 

That being said, eat healthy and live healthy. Props to you for caring enough about yourself.

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haha...jealous of your eating habits...haha.

 

That's ridiculous. For you to feel that way shows your insecurity, not theirs. Clearly they don't give a damn about what they are eating. I get the feeling you take a dump on your friends for what they eat and they respond back to tease you about what you eat. I could easily be wrong though.

 

That being said, eat healthy and live healthy. Props to you for caring enough about yourself.

Eh, honestly when I wrote that, I was only really referring to one person in my mind. And the hilarious thing is said person hit me up like 2 days later to say they'd lost like 50 pounds ... and wanted me to tell my wife that she was  "part of the inspiration" ... hadn't seen the guy in a few years so totally bizarre. Anyway, he used to poke fun at my "hippy eating" as I was living with him when my now wife and I were dating and I started to eat healthier ... but I also get a sense that there are a lot of people out there like him, via online discussions, etc. that say "screw that, I only live once blah blah" ... and a lot of that, in my opinion, comes from insecurities, since a lot of times that was my defense mechanism whenever I was faced with a healthier food option but just didn't want to do it, for whatever reason.

 

That being said, I took up my "hippy eating" because of my wife ... who's a health nut. The funny thing is I was that guy initially. I put up a huge fuss over even the suggestion of eating some almonds instead of chips, etc. Now here I am making juices for my breakfast every morning along with some expensive-ass Quest protein bar because it's the healthiest protein bar out there lol.

 

So I speak primarily from experience. And maybe because I just started doing the juices somewhat regularly, which happen to have kale, made me overly defensive to it haha. To each his own though!

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  • 4 months later...

I'm not a fan of the term "Pseudo Science", which implies it's at least somewhat scientific,

I disagree...

Synonyms for "pseudo":

bogus, sham, phony, artificial, mock, ersatz, fake, false, spurious, deceptive.

So bogus science, sham science, phony science, artificial science, mock science, ersatz science, fake science, false science, spurious science, or deceptive science doesn't sound "somewhat scientific to me."

[This ends today's vocabulary lesson.]

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I disagree...

Synonyms for "pseudo":

bogus, sham, phony, artificial, mock, ersatz, fake, false, spurious, deceptive.

So bogus science, sham science, phony science, artificial science, mock science, ersatz science, fake science, false science, spurious science, or deceptive science doesn't sound "somewhat scientific to me."

[This ends today's vocabulary lesson.]

I guess it depends on how you use the word. I've always seen Pseudo more in this light:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pseudo

adjective

1. not actually but having the appearance of; pretended; false or spurious; sham.

2. almost, approaching, or trying to be.

or

pseudo-

combining form

1. false, pretending, or unauthentic: pseudo-intellectual

2. having a close resemblance to: pseudopodium

Heck, right now I'm working with a "Psuedoinverse Matrix", which is an approximation of an inverse used in the case that a true inverse is impossible (as in, the matrix has more rows than columns rather than being a square matrix). The point of it is to solve a system of equations, which when you have as many equations as variables, you have one unique solution. However when you have more equations, they might not all perfectly agree and so you have to find a solution that approximately solves the system.

What is described as Psuedoscience, to me, is more of the anti-science than it is something that looks kinda like science.

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Just curious, do you use matlab for your psudeoinverse?

No, I'm doing it in C as I'm using Inverse Kinematics to program a robot to move it's hands into a position in three-dimensional space. I've decided to try the Jacobian method, and as I have more joints to move (shoulder Roll/Pitch/Yaw and Elbow = 4 joints) than there are dimensions for the end-effector, I have to find the Psuedoinverse of the Jacobian matrix rather than having the true inverse one could get when the number of joints is equal to the number of dimensions.

I did some Forward Kinematics in Octave (the free open-source terminal-based version of matlab) if it makes you feel any better. :)

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