I was perusing some headlines and I noticed a new study regarding warmer indoor temperatures contributing to obesity. Weight loss gimmicks, fads, wisdom, research, etc. always interest me due to the gross level of misinformation and narrow focus they present. This latest one didn't disappoint.
It has to be one of the stupider lines of research I've seen. Really? You mean that if people make it warm and cozy inside and decide not to go outside and exercise or work, they'll get fatter? Thanks for that news flash! How about you try a real comparison: measure people that "live in the cold" against those who are warm but workout regularly. But, make sure you are using test groups that have the same relative daily caloric expenditure.
If cold is the primary factor during winter, then I would expect all of those NYC hotdog, magazine, and other street vendors to be "brown fat" laden and ready to be muscle machines come warm weather (you have to read the article and underlying science to understand what I'm talking about). Obviously, there are some serious gaps in the study. There may be interesting science around brown and white fat cells, but once again American science has perverted a line of research to conform it to a specific goal(s).
What is that goal or goals? Well, of course, our ultimate desire is to be fat and lazy without the effects of being fat and lazy. So, if researchers can figure out a way to trick the body into producing more of those "good" brown fat cells and less white, via the next miracle weight-loss drug, then they'll declare success. The next goal is somewhat hidden in the article, at least until you reach the end. The theory goes that if we want to fight obesity, then we should all turn down our thermostats...which just happens to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.
I'm absolutely not against saving energy and reducing carbon emissions, but don't try to sneak an agenda in through the back door of a national health issue. Furthermore, why in the world does research always focus on such narrow parameters, putting blinders on to correlations? It's almost a guarantee that whoever they studied in the "cold" has a higher energy output than whatever slobs they found sitting around inside their cozy homes. If you read the wording carefully, you'll notice that the real comparison is between indoors and outdoors, not true controlled temperature tests. Does it take a scientist to figure out that the average person who spends more time outside in the winter will be less fat? Let's look at the groups who would be outside: athletes, manual laborers, farmers, nature buffs, etc. It's easy to see that those groups all have more active lifestyles.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Answering Prayers: By the Numbers
So, who hasn't heard about Ted Williams yet? The "Golden Voice" is hitting every media outlet, so we're all up to date on the former homeless man's rise to fame, with the help of God. Yes, God answered his and his mother's prayers. Chance, his own personal perseverance and generous character, the natural goodwill of others...all attributable to God. Now comes the avalanche of secondary media and Facebook posts that tell us how this man owes everything to God because his prayers were answered.
So what of the other ~110,000 chronically homeless, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of temporarily homeless? Assuming some don't believe in God, some are incapable of formulating prayers due to mental illness, and others refuse to pray, I would still be willing to bet there are a good number praying for help and even have others praying for them. How does God pick, then?
Years ago, my cousin was diagnosed with leukemia. It's a horrible form of cancer with a current survival rate of 40%, up from 14% in the 60's. Thankfully, my cousin survived. To many, it was, and is still, declared as a miracle. Many prayers were asked for and many prayers were said. He beat the odds but, every day, 60% of others don't. Why was his case, in particular, a miracle? Why were his family's and friend's prayer's answered when the majority of others are not?
You cannot find any competitive endeavor, especially when Americans participate, that "winners" don't thank God. Olympic medalists, sports teams, racing drivers, reality TV competition competitors, game show contestants, etc., etc. all thank God for their wins. When someone, or a team, wins, there are invariably many, many more "losers". I'm pretty sure a great many of them were praying for victory. Do they thank God for the loss? If two teams/competitors both pray to God for the win or even just to play well (which would be the more modest prayer), how does God pick who to answer? I almost have this image of Zeus and Poseidon each imbuing their champions with power for victory, but it sort of breaks down because God is singular. Ever tried to play checkers against yourself? It doesn't really work so well.
Floods, earthquakes, hurricanes...we've all seen the aftermath footage of survivors thanking God for their lives. Really? So John Doe down the street, who lost his home and family: what should he be thankful for? You see the same thing with every level of tragedy and despair: people thanking God for not making it worse or for answering their prayers while they were at the cusp of death. That's right, you prayed and God answered. He just happened to ignore the other two passengers, with you, when the car slammed into that tree.
God gets credit for even the mundane. I have seen thanks given for a new job, an affordable car available for purchase, a child getting good grades...I could go on ad nauseum. The point being that, with all of these prayers flying around and prayers being answered and miracles happening, what's the logic? Is the prayer answering percentage based? Can you get yourself into the queue with extra effort? I don't think anyone has been able to answer this question, except with the tried and true oblique responses:
- We don't understand God's grand design (He's infinitely smarter than you, so don't bother even questioning anything associated with God or faith).
- He helps those who help themselves (implying you haven't done enough for yourself if your prayers aren't answered?)
- Someone's time was up (Again, don't question what you'll never comprehend)
Faith is wonderful like that. There is absolutely no argument that can stand against the basic foundation that God is unknowable and unquestionable. Well, bullshit. I'm not going to get into any kind of theological debate with anyone over this. I simply want to point out the narrow focus that people have when attributing credit to prayers and God's largess. Most people are pretty damn selfish. Am I against prayer? Hell no! Pray away. Anything that gives you strength and makes you feel better is a positive in my book. Will I be praying anytime soon? Statistically speaking, I'm just as well off as people who don't, so no. And, to anyone who would decry, "Atheist asshole!", I'm an agnostic. The difference will be in a later post, if you don't know it already.
“Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear” -- Thomas Jefferson
So what of the other ~110,000 chronically homeless, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of temporarily homeless? Assuming some don't believe in God, some are incapable of formulating prayers due to mental illness, and others refuse to pray, I would still be willing to bet there are a good number praying for help and even have others praying for them. How does God pick, then?
Years ago, my cousin was diagnosed with leukemia. It's a horrible form of cancer with a current survival rate of 40%, up from 14% in the 60's. Thankfully, my cousin survived. To many, it was, and is still, declared as a miracle. Many prayers were asked for and many prayers were said. He beat the odds but, every day, 60% of others don't. Why was his case, in particular, a miracle? Why were his family's and friend's prayer's answered when the majority of others are not?
You cannot find any competitive endeavor, especially when Americans participate, that "winners" don't thank God. Olympic medalists, sports teams, racing drivers, reality TV competition competitors, game show contestants, etc., etc. all thank God for their wins. When someone, or a team, wins, there are invariably many, many more "losers". I'm pretty sure a great many of them were praying for victory. Do they thank God for the loss? If two teams/competitors both pray to God for the win or even just to play well (which would be the more modest prayer), how does God pick who to answer? I almost have this image of Zeus and Poseidon each imbuing their champions with power for victory, but it sort of breaks down because God is singular. Ever tried to play checkers against yourself? It doesn't really work so well.
Floods, earthquakes, hurricanes...we've all seen the aftermath footage of survivors thanking God for their lives. Really? So John Doe down the street, who lost his home and family: what should he be thankful for? You see the same thing with every level of tragedy and despair: people thanking God for not making it worse or for answering their prayers while they were at the cusp of death. That's right, you prayed and God answered. He just happened to ignore the other two passengers, with you, when the car slammed into that tree.
God gets credit for even the mundane. I have seen thanks given for a new job, an affordable car available for purchase, a child getting good grades...I could go on ad nauseum. The point being that, with all of these prayers flying around and prayers being answered and miracles happening, what's the logic? Is the prayer answering percentage based? Can you get yourself into the queue with extra effort? I don't think anyone has been able to answer this question, except with the tried and true oblique responses:
- We don't understand God's grand design (He's infinitely smarter than you, so don't bother even questioning anything associated with God or faith).
- He helps those who help themselves (implying you haven't done enough for yourself if your prayers aren't answered?)
- Someone's time was up (Again, don't question what you'll never comprehend)
Faith is wonderful like that. There is absolutely no argument that can stand against the basic foundation that God is unknowable and unquestionable. Well, bullshit. I'm not going to get into any kind of theological debate with anyone over this. I simply want to point out the narrow focus that people have when attributing credit to prayers and God's largess. Most people are pretty damn selfish. Am I against prayer? Hell no! Pray away. Anything that gives you strength and makes you feel better is a positive in my book. Will I be praying anytime soon? Statistically speaking, I'm just as well off as people who don't, so no. And, to anyone who would decry, "Atheist asshole!", I'm an agnostic. The difference will be in a later post, if you don't know it already.
“Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear” -- Thomas Jefferson
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Inaugural Post: Ending Facebook as my forum
I've never been much of a blog follower. When a Google search picked something interesting up, sure I'd hit it and follow the thread, but I didn't really see the need for blogs or bloggers. Two things changed my mind, though. First, I bumped into a couple of blogs that were perpetually relevant to my interests, generally aligned with my thought processes, and, most importantly, are written by intelligent and balanced individuals. Second, I realized, after a very long-winded comment-fest on Facebook, that I was actually already blogging.
A little over 2 years ago, my wife and I decided to join the Facebook craze. Our only compulsion for doing so was because we were bound for life in the UK, and Facebook seemed like a great vehicle for keeping up with everyone. It was and we did. For the first 6 months, I was a typical Facebooker, adding long-lost friends and classmates, playing goofy games, etc. Over time, though, I filtered it down to its base components so that I could get on, get the relevant information about people I actually cared and wanted to know anything about, and get off. When you synthesize Facebook down like that, you can really see who says plain stupid and/or incorrect things, who is far left/right, and the gross level of misinformation travelling through comments, like/dislikes, and statuses.
I didn't consciously set out to utilize Facebook as a way to spread my political views (which can be misleading because I often play devil's advocate) or incite debate, but, by my nature (highly skeptical, analytical, critical, diffuse, and unreserved) I couldn't let certain things slide. It's one thing to know someone is making uninformed decisions that only affect them (sort of) and another to see that translated to assertions that everyone sees on Facebook and may even "Like". While every battle can't be fought, I found myself slowly drawing upon the power of the comment to validate, denounce, expand, etc. For a while, I was secure in my cocoon of thinking that, really, only my family and closest friends are probably seeing this stuff, and they know I can't let go of a good verbal fight. Slowly but surely, though, from stray Facebook comment dropped in here and there, from people I never talked to, and actual conversations with extended friends and family, that I only see infrequently, I realized the audience was much larger than I suspected.
I went into a slow shock for a while. I didn't want to post to anyone that might get angry or get into debates that revealed too much detail about my personal views. But, once we returned to the U.S., after 18 months in the UK, I felt the old urges rising, especially when bullshit swirled around regarding the various Euro Zone economic crisis. To wrap this story up, I went back to my old ways, but I became much more judicious in selecting my targets and a bit more politically correct in my comment approach. A few months ago, though, a succession of long-winded "debates" convinced me that I might want to consider a different forum. That was the genesis of "Middle Of The Road".
A little over 2 years ago, my wife and I decided to join the Facebook craze. Our only compulsion for doing so was because we were bound for life in the UK, and Facebook seemed like a great vehicle for keeping up with everyone. It was and we did. For the first 6 months, I was a typical Facebooker, adding long-lost friends and classmates, playing goofy games, etc. Over time, though, I filtered it down to its base components so that I could get on, get the relevant information about people I actually cared and wanted to know anything about, and get off. When you synthesize Facebook down like that, you can really see who says plain stupid and/or incorrect things, who is far left/right, and the gross level of misinformation travelling through comments, like/dislikes, and statuses.
I didn't consciously set out to utilize Facebook as a way to spread my political views (which can be misleading because I often play devil's advocate) or incite debate, but, by my nature (highly skeptical, analytical, critical, diffuse, and unreserved) I couldn't let certain things slide. It's one thing to know someone is making uninformed decisions that only affect them (sort of) and another to see that translated to assertions that everyone sees on Facebook and may even "Like". While every battle can't be fought, I found myself slowly drawing upon the power of the comment to validate, denounce, expand, etc. For a while, I was secure in my cocoon of thinking that, really, only my family and closest friends are probably seeing this stuff, and they know I can't let go of a good verbal fight. Slowly but surely, though, from stray Facebook comment dropped in here and there, from people I never talked to, and actual conversations with extended friends and family, that I only see infrequently, I realized the audience was much larger than I suspected.
I went into a slow shock for a while. I didn't want to post to anyone that might get angry or get into debates that revealed too much detail about my personal views. But, once we returned to the U.S., after 18 months in the UK, I felt the old urges rising, especially when bullshit swirled around regarding the various Euro Zone economic crisis. To wrap this story up, I went back to my old ways, but I became much more judicious in selecting my targets and a bit more politically correct in my comment approach. A few months ago, though, a succession of long-winded "debates" convinced me that I might want to consider a different forum. That was the genesis of "Middle Of The Road".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)