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Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

latimes.com

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Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#551

Post by arvinjoar »

ebbv wrote: post #529
arvinjoar wrote: post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a bad attitude though. Experts with authority granted to them in the form of titles have failed us, and keep failing us in so many areas. Ranging from nutrition to psychology, we really shouldn't put their work on a pedestal. Techies are a smart bunch on average and can stomach a lot more complexity than the average joe. It makes sense for them to try to pick up stuff outside of their line of work. Take Elon…

Yes I love how Elon doesn't hire rocket engineers and scientists or consult with NASA. Oh wait he does those things.

If you had read my comment a little more charitably, you might have noticed that I never said you shouldn't consult or listen to experts, but simply that you shouldn't assume someone who is not an expert can't figure things out in a field outside their line of work.

Experts weren't always so kind to Elon[1] either.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P8UKBAOfGo

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#552

Post by Klathmon »

jonathanstrange wrote: post #416
Matachines wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every time Soylent is on HN people say this. Why don't people understand? It's so simple: Soylent is for meals you don't care about but need. It's not a) the ONLY food you can eat or b) supposed to replace all meals. I order a box of Soylent bottles every few weeks—they come in handy while working or for a quick breakfast or if I have little time and am hungry. I also cook meals with my girlfriend a few times a week…

That's what I don't get. Most people have difficulties keeping their weight in check rather than vice versa, and you can get all kind of snacks, ranging from healthy to extremely unhealthy, practically everywhere. Streets and shops and cafés are plastered with food, the abundance is mind-boggling if you think about it (or come from some really poor country). How is mixing & drinking a glass of Soylent easier or less…

For me it's the storage. Lettuce goes bad, fruits rot, bread gets moldy, all within a short timeframe.

I buy some Soylent and it will be good there for a while. So when I'm hungry and we are out of bread, now it's a 30 second meal vs a 30 minutes or more to run to the store.

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#553

Post by moeffju »

dkersten wrote: post #405
orbifold wrote: post #389

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eating too much sugar has serious long term health effects.

Ignoring the effect on your teeth, it was my understanding that the fibre in fruit helped counteract many of the negative effects of fructose (at least, keeping your insulin in check). I don't have any proof on hand, so perhaps I'm wrong.

Fructose is low GI, so there is a small insulin response only.

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#554

Post by welanes »

n72 wrote: post #477
slg wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the biggest flaws of the tech industry is the belief that being a tech expert is enough to disrupt other industries in which they don't have any expertise. Sometimes they get lucky and it works despite something like Uber's or Airbnb's total ignorance of the law. Sometimes it fails like with numerous cryptocurrency companies relearning why the finance industry has so many dang regulations. Seems like Soylent i…

The founder of Soylent clearly believes he's an expert in many, many fields: http://robrhinehart.com/?p=1331 BTW, anyone know a good word for this attitude? I wouldn't call it hybris, though it's closely related. It's a mix of arrogance, over confidence, ignorance, plus more and very prevalent in SV.

> BTW, anyone know a good word for this attitude?

Got you, brah -

Dilettantism: a person having a superficial interest in an art or field of knowledge without investing the usually required effort. See also: dabbler.

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#555

Post by NumberCruncher »

mcv wrote: post #519
NumberCruncher wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not all of your meals has to be "nutritionally complete". You can store apples during the whole winter if you have below 0 degrees outside. We did it when I was young. Quality of life does not starts with a 6 digit salary and ends with working on the next Uber for X. Living in the right country/city with the right people can case you a lot of happiness. I know because I was born behind the iron curtain.

> Not all of your meals has to be "nutritionally complete". But is that really a reason to argue against nutritionally complete meals? Healthy is still better than unhealthy. I suppose the choice becomes healthy or tasty at some point.

I am saying that "nutritionally complete meals" try to solve a problem you do not actually have. Please feel free to consider this as an argument against Soylent.

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#556

Post by arvinjoar »

kiba wrote: post #506
arvinjoar wrote: post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a bad attitude though. Experts with authority granted to them in the form of titles have failed us, and keep failing us in so many areas. Ranging from nutrition to psychology, we really shouldn't put their work on a pedestal. Techies are a smart bunch on average and can stomach a lot more complexity than the average joe. It makes sense for them to try to pick up stuff outside of their line of work. Take Elon…

Elon Musk made himself into an expert. I would consider him an authority on rocketry.

Kind of proving my point? :) He did have to go aginst the grain though[1].

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P8UKBAOfGo

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#557

Post by strider12 »

ekimekim wrote: post #96
ag56 wrote: post #28

> Soylent said there shouldn’t be any issues with its premade drinks, which cost slightly more than just the powder. Interesting. I tried the premade drinks (Soylent 2.0) a couple of months ago and within an hour had stomach cramps and was forced to retreat to the bathroom. Unlike a software bug it's mentally very hard to forgive -- I love the idea of Soylent but doubt I will ever try it again, in any form. Serious q…

> Serious question: why is it so hard for them to find the root cause of these issues? Biology is hard. Humans are really, really variable. Look through the comments on this page - you'll find people who couldn't keep down one bottle, or who love the bottles but can't stand the powder, or who have had zero issues, or who find the entire idea disgusting. And these reactions may also change over time. Medical science c…

also might be an issue of endurance, sometimes the body needs to adjust to things and that could take a week - most of these complaints are 'x happened to me the first time'

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#558

Post by cauterized »

summarite wrote: post #220
Matachines wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every time Soylent is on HN people say this. Why don't people understand? It's so simple: Soylent is for meals you don't care about but need. It's not a) the ONLY food you can eat or b) supposed to replace all meals. I order a box of Soylent bottles every few weeks—they come in handy while working or for a quick breakfast or if I have little time and am hungry. I also cook meals with my girlfriend a few times a week…

That's probably just me but a lifestyle where you have no time to take a break (or meet friends/colleagues) and eat doesn't sound very healthy and not very desirable either. I understand the desire to optimise eating times and life overall, and sometimes there's a lot of work that seems important, but at the point where you drink a supplement rather than eat it seems there's no life left in what should be more than j…

What if you usually break for lunch with colleagues but just have some days when you don't get a chance to take a break - you're not planning a life without breaks, but the database server crashes and shit happens?

What if you schedule your workday too tightly to break for lunch specifically so that you can leave the office earlier and spend time with the people you love?

What if you'd rather spend an extra hour a couple times a week hiking with your friends / family rather than chopping vegetables and scrubbing pots?

What if spending less time on food ENABLES you to live your life instead of missing out?

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#559

Post by NumberCruncher »

akvadrako wrote: post #441
NumberCruncher wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not all of your meals has to be "nutritionally complete". You can store apples during the whole winter if you have below 0 degrees outside. We did it when I was young. Quality of life does not starts with a 6 digit salary and ends with working on the next Uber for X. Living in the right country/city with the right people can case you a lot of happiness. I know because I was born behind the iron curtain.

So instead of Soylent you are suggesting people live in the right country/city with the right people? Uh-huh.

Not exactly. Insted of drinking Soylent go to a nearby shop and by some apples and rye bread. If there are any shops... you maybe just found a market gap. Opening one you could make your city to a better place for living.

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#560

Post by NumberCruncher »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #380
NumberCruncher wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not think so. The statement that keto is the best diet even if it causes rectal bleeding sounds reasonable to me [source: HN]. I go now and take a fat-shake. Cheers!

I was on keto. It worked. No rectal bleeding. I also didn't die of various stuff I was supposed to. I'm close to getting jailed though, because I fear that at some point I'll break and punch the next person who tells me that artificial sweeteners cause cancer.

It would be so sad if you get jailed because of an "urban myth".
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