Comments on: Know Where Your Beliefs Come From

By: My Personal Development Experiments - March Update

My Personal Development Experiments - March Update — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:16:33 +0000

[...] mineral rocks. I always thought antiperspirants are really bad for your health, but I learned to double-check my long-held beliefs. So after doing a lot of research online, there don’t really seem to be any problems with [...]

By: Erich

Erich — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:56:05 +0000

Vlad, thank you for your insightful and honest post! Very refreshing.

By: Vlad Dolezal

Vlad Dolezal — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:14:49 +0000

@Hulbert:

If you try it and your sore throat gets worse, please let me know! I like the idea that maybe I was right!

@Walter:

I like to think that after reading this post, the idea will get stuck deep in your subconscious. And the next time you’re arguing with someone about beliefs, you will pause and think “Hang on, where exactly did this believe come from?”

And then go right on arguing, because you won’t want to admit your arguing for the past half hour might have been wrong

By: Walter

Walter — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:06:14 +0000

You have presented here a very simple truth. Unfortunately, most of us are too blind to make a query as to the truthfulness of the things we believe. We always want to learn the hard way.

By: Hulbert

Hulbert — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:58:37 +0000

Hi Vlad, this was kind of random (in a good way). I have never came across an article on beliefs (which is sort of a heavy topic if you deep way down into it) that was inspired by sore throats and ice cream. I agree with you though. Whenever I have sore throat, the last thing I would eat is ice cream because I thought that makes it worse. Usually drinking tons of hot water or soup works for me. Maybe next time I’ll try that, but if it doesn’t work, I’m blaming you guys for it.
.-= Hulbert´s last blog ..Are You Hungry Enough for It? – 5 Questions to Ask Yourself =-.

By: Vlad Dolezal

Vlad Dolezal — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:12:43 +0000

@Gabrielle:

Exactly.

I enjoy living a slightly less-than-conventional life, so I always try silly random stuff I see people mention on the internet. But I always check it myself, I don’t rely on anecdotal evidence.

(As an example, a friend pointed me to a community of people who brush their teeth with soap instead of toothpaste (so does he). I tried it, but it just didn’t feel right to me. One of the random things I rejected . (I’m trying another similar unconventional thing at the moment, I’ll report on it on this blog if it’s successful.))

By: Gabrielle

Gabrielle — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:15:06 +0000

Women are bombarded by well-intentioned misinformation during pregnancy. The things our aunties tell us boggle the imagination. One that springs to mind is, “don’t hold onto the overhead handhold on the subway/bus, because it will make the umbilical cord strangle the baby”. This is said in all seriousness.

I’ve gotten to the point where I Google almost everything that’s presented to me as fact. Getting a bit neurotic about it, really.

Along with the nocebo effect, we have to watch out for anecdotal evidence, especially on the internet. It makes thousands, if not millions of people act very silly on little concrete evidence. Refusing to get children immunized is one example.

Use Google, but remember to check the source.
.-= Gabrielle´s last blog ..Sidetracked =-.

By: Vlad Dolezal

Vlad Dolezal — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:25:58 +0000

@Ticker:

Good point. Thinking that drinking OJ and milk simultaneously will make you sick might well have a nocebo effect (opposite of placebo).

@Sheila:

Those are great examples. I especially like the oven story

@Oliver:

Great questions. I honestly don’t know answers to any of them. (Then again, I have neither a dishwasher nor a car.)

@Lyn:

Yeah, that’s the worst thing. You don’t know what you don’t notice, because by definition, you DON’T NOTICE it

By: Lyn

Lyn — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:05:27 +0000

Very thought-provoking! I've always been one to question things like religion and politics which annoys my family to know end, but I wonder how many of the little seemingly insignificant things I don't question. .-= Lyn´s last blog ..What Age Is It Appropriate To Breastfeed Your Child in Public =-.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:50:08 +0000

I have exactly the same problem; and being from a different country than my wife, there’s the cultural false beliefs as well. Contentious points include:

- Do you stick knives and forks pointing down into the dishwasher? The kids might impale themselves on a upwards pointing knife when the dishwasher is open. But does this ever happen? (Apparently about twice a year in the UK)

- Do you pull the handbrake on when it’s cold? The cable might freeze and snap. (Never happened to me, even in a colder climate than England)

- Does switching of lights all the time actually save energy? Or does it just shorten the life span of the bulbs and effectively *wastes* more energy than it saves?

- Should you boil water for cooking pasta in an electric kettle or on your gas hob? In the kettle it’s faster, but electricity generation requires more energy than burning gas.

The final two are questions I genuinely don’t know. And it’s hard to find a correct answer in the first place, so domestic trouble looms if there’s a clash of opinions on them!
.-= Oliver´s last blog ..Go – Went – Gone =-.