Speaking to the larger issues, I only change my behavior under parallax, when I see multiple, seemingly disparate lines of reasoning converging. For the climate, it's my natural dislike of crowds combined with myopic thinking and the "leave only footprints" ethic. For meat, it was a convergence of its cost (in resources) to raise, animal abuse/exploitation, the practices/consequences of industrial meat, and the prevalence of fast food (including the way I feel after eating it and an irrational association of fast food with obesity). The cancer and heart disease studies have no impact on my behavior, at least so far.
Supplements are an interesting case for me. I experiment with all sorts of them, usually for very short periods of time. I'm not very methodical about it. But I've played around with tryptophan, melatonin, probiotics, milk thistle, amino acids, trace minerals, [in]soluble fiber, etc., including, of course various broad vitamins. They all have interesting effects ... well, except the milk thistle... I've never observed any effects of that. But I get the same restful sleep with tryptophan as I do after "smoking" a cigar. (I haven't smoked a cigar in a looong time, though.) Melatonin does seem to reduce the recovery time from jet lag. Etc. Now, what it would take to get me to, say, take a daily vitamin for more than a week or two? I have no idea. Nothing, probably. The vitamins helped during chemo. But otherwise, they're mostly useless to me. On 10/28/2015 06:15 AM, John Kennison wrote:
I think my real reasons are that I like meat, and I think that being a vegetarian would be inconvenient. I do respond to cancer studies, so I try to eat salads and broccoli and fruits and other vegetables. Also, I have largely (but not at all completely) given up red meat. The latest studies will make me less likely to go to a Subway for a processed Turkey sandwich. But I have already entertained the thought that the studies are probably flawed because people who lots of processed meats will include a disproportionately high number who do not eat very well--I haven’t, of course, checked to see whether the studies control for this possibility.
On 10/27/2015 10:06 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:> Dear Friam members,
I am more interested in the process by which each of you will decide whether or not to change your habits on the basis of this new evidence, or try to change the habits of your children or grandchildren. In what sense will that process be "reasonable?"
-- ⇔ glen ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
