How diet gurus hook us with religion veiled in science

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  • snikkins
    snikkins Posts: 1,282 Member
    royaldrea wrote: »
    _John_ wrote: »
    royaldrea wrote: »
    This was brilliant, thanks for sharing!

    umm...I get the satire...but he says so many diets are wrong (or implies it) by the sarcastic tone, then offers little substance.

    Then the link at the bottom is to buy his book...which is the same way the thing he talks against gets you to buy something.

    Sure, I agree that fad diets fool people, but it still hit me as off (even if the quote I linked is meant to be sarcastic/satire) as the article is kind of still a "sales pitch" to read his book.

    I often see news sites refer to the work of the authors of their articles (and to their twitter handles etc). Maybe that's why I'm not struck by it in the same way as you are. I think that probably his book expounds further on what the article is about in any event, so if the article is a plug I'm fine with it, I think it's reasonable, and I don't think it impacts the thrust of the article whatsoever.

    I don't think he was trying to prove that fad diets are wrong per se, but was demonstrating how fad diet proponents can and do use pseudo-science and inconclusive science and mystical language to persuade people into believing that something is a definite when it really isn't. That seemed to be the substance of the article and there was plenty of it in my view.

    Me too. It seems to be pretty standard nowadays. I'm not sure if it's the publisher trying to lend more credence to having hired the person to write for them or if it is the author trying to draw attention to his/her publications, but either way, I don't think it's going to go away.

  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    “Emotional excitement reaches men through tea, tobacco, opium, whisky, and religion.” — George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950)

    http://www.salon.com/2014/01/04/this_is_your_brain_on_religion_uncovering_the_science_of_belief/

    Love the quote!
    And thanks for your link. I love it when an article makes me think.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    edited October 2015
    What is the thinking of taking something "sacred" like bread (bread of life, staff of life, body of christ) and demonizing it (ie Atkins, paleo) what are the mental gymnastics required for that change of thought?

    Nevermind I further read the article and it's to sell his book, LOL! Good trick though.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Seems sort of ironic that he is attacking diet gurus but he (a religion professor) has now written a diet book....

    I have his book, The Gluten Lie, and had planned to read it this weekend. Now? It looks like it could be a waste of time.

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