Ranthropologist

Category: Daily Reads

  • Daily Reads: The Gluten-Free Craze

    Daily Reads: The Gluten-Free Craze

    In my post on the bandwagon fallacy, I used the popularity of certain food fads as my example. One of those fads is the current gluten-free craze. This article from NPR by James S. Fell discusses how this fad has created difficulties for people who have actually been diagnosed with celiac disease. These folks, unlike those who refer to themselves as gluten intolerant, experience severe health consequences from eating gluten – and they comprise only about 1% of the population. Just like with everything else, fads like this must be considered with a critical eye. Anecdotal evidence from people who say they feel better when they cut gluten out of their diets is not the same as the results of rigorous, controlled, peer-reviewed studies of the effects of dietary gluten. It may well be that the so-called and frequently self-diagnosed gluten intolerant feel better because they are eating more healthfully in general – e.g., if you have cut out gluten, then you’ve probably cut out a lot of processed junk foods like pastries, donuts, etc. and substituted with less processed foods. So beware of fads, be compassionate and understanding of those who actually have celiac disease, and don’t be too quick to jump on the bandwagon.

    Gluten-Free Craze is Boon and Bane To Those With Celiac Disease

  • Daily Reads: Bored and Brilliant

    Daily Reads: Bored and Brilliant

    Today’s Daily Read is actually a challenge. I ran across an article called The Case for Boredom from the New Tech City podcast this morning and read about an experiment they are running called Bored and Brilliant. After reading about it, I decided to join the project. Here’s the deal: according to the podcast and article, people are spending an inordinate amount of time on their cellphones. Big surprise, right? Of course not – but what’s interesting is the research showing that we are stifling our creativity by never allowing ourselves to be bored. So Manoush Zomorodi of New Tech City decided to create the Bored and Brilliant project to see if people will sign up and participate during the first week of February to see if they can change their relationship with their phone. Now, I don’t feel like I spend that much time on my phone, but part of the project involves downloading an app that tracks your actual use. I think I’ll probably be surprised to find that I use my phone much more than I realize, even though I don’t use it for anything other than email, texting, and browsing the web (e.g. no time-sucking games like Candy Crush). But I also know that when I have a few minutes of downtime – even if it’s idling at a red light – my default urge is to grab the phone and see if I have any new messages or if there are any updates on Instagram or Facebook. I know many of my friends are doing this too – and I also think many of you may want to change your relationship with your phone. So I am challenging you to join me in participating in the Bored and Brilliant project. Click the link below to learn more about the project and sign up. I think it will be fun – and revealing!

    Bored and Brilliant: The Lost Art of Spacing Out

  • Daily Read: Get Your Kids Vaccinated

    Daily Read: Get Your Kids Vaccinated

    I haven’t written any posts specifically about this subject, but it should come as a surprise to no one that I am pro-vaccine. This is a great post by Jennifer Raff from her blog Violent Metaphors that covers the basic arguments for why vaccines are safe, effective, and important. The article is chock-full of links for further reading, and if you have time, I recommend that you click through and read up on the multiple studies that have proved the safety and efficacy of vaccines. The recent outbreak of measles at Disneyland, which has caused infections in at least 20 people so far, brought this always-simmering issue back to immediate public attention. I think it is something that should be constantly reiterated because the consequences of people not vaccinating their children can be severe – and not just for the kids who aren’t vaccinated. Personal belief exemptions for vaccines are becoming more and more common at schools, and I think this is dangerous. If you know anybody who is on the fence about vaccines, please encourage them to think critically and do their research – and as the article says, not just from the anti-vaccine side. You can also encourage people to learn how to assess arguments from a scientific, critical perspective so they understand the difference between testable scientific hypotheses and untestable conspiracy theories. I know a good place to start: right here at Ranthropologist!

    Dear Parents, You Are Being Lied To

    H/T to my friend Todd and IFLScience.com for bring this post to my attention.

  • Daily Reads: A Glass of Poop

    Daily Reads: A Glass of Poop

    Linda Poon of NPR uses the word poop in her headline, so I guess I can too! This article about Bill Gates drinking a glass of water derived from sewage sludge makes me very happy. This process has derisively – and misleadingly – been called “toilet to tap” (a technology I mentioned in this post), and as such it has scared people away from an extremely effective way of recycling precious water. This appears to be a different technology from the classic method of collecting and treating water from sewage, but the results are the same. This is the sort of innovation the world needs. People just need to put on their critical thinking caps and realize that the initial source, while gross to think about, is irrelevant to the ultimate product: clean, drinkable water.

    Bill Gates Raises A Glass To (And Of) Water Made From Poop

  • Daily Reads: Home Cooking

    Daily Reads: Home Cooking

    Here’s an interesting little article on the link between home cooking and health by NPR’s Melissa McEwen that illustrates how we have to be careful about the assumptions we make. There is a tendency with science reporting in the media to simplify complex ideas. This, of course, is necessary when you have to contend with word limits. But that same simplification can bleed over into policy statements, as illustrated in this article. It has been taken as a truism that cooking and eating more frequently at home will lead to overall better health, especially in terms of conditions like metabolic syndrome, a precursor to type 2 diabetes. New research indicates that this may not actually be the case – but importantly, the article also  points out that more research needs to be done to see exactly what the connections really are. This is the scientific method and critical thinking in a nutshell and shows how important it is to be skeptical of broad claims.

    Is “Cook at Home” Always Good Health Advice?

  • Daily Reads: #JeSuisCharlie?

    Daily Reads: #JeSuisCharlie?

    This is a thoughtful article by Sandip Roy of New American Media and FirstPost.com on why it is so important to defend freedom of speech and expression – even when we might vehemently disagree with what is being said. Roy points out that Charlie Hebdo, the satirical French publication that was the target of a horrific slaughter by men who claimed to be acting in the name of Islam, has a reputation for extremely offensive writing and cartoons that many consider to be racist, xenophobic, and homophobic. Roy rightfully points out that many people are more likely to defend freedom of speech when they agree with the speech in question – but he also points out that in cases like Charlie Hebdo, even if we don’t like the speech we should still defend it. Importantly, he also points out that freedom of speech is not the same all over the globe. Finally, he argues that we can support freedom of expression without also saying Je Suis Charlie (I Am Charlie) and potentially implying that we, too, are racist and homophobic. As Roy puts it: “I will defend their right to exist and condemn what happened to them with every fiber of my being as well. But I just cannot say #IAmCharlieHebdo.”

    #JeSuisCharlie? No, I’m really not Charlie Hebdo: Here’s Why