Jack Dorsey Is Gwyneth Paltrow for Silicon Valley • Hacker News Board

Re: Jack Dorsey Is Gwyneth Paltrow for Silicon Valley

#151

Post by andreilys » Thu, May 02, 2019, 7:04 PM UTC

code_duck wrote: post #58

gvand wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read the article and ask yourself which one of the things described would seem out of place in one of those sad gossip magazines targeting low-income housewives. E.g. water mixed with Himalayan salt and lemon in the morning. And since I'm mentioning it, Himalayan salt is not better than normal salt. It could also contain more contaminants and it has no iodine (that could not be desirable in some countries).

I could see people considering “For 10 days a year, he sits in silence at a meditation retreat. Before getting dressed each morning, he experiments with using his home infrared sauna and then an ice bath, sometimes cycling through both several times before he leaves home.” along the same lines.

How is a 10-day meditation retreat bullshit?

Or sauna/ice cold baths?

These activities have both been done for decades/centuries and have the backing of scientific studies.

Re: Jack Dorsey Is Gwyneth Paltrow for Silicon Valley

#152

Post by stickfigure » Thu, May 02, 2019, 7:05 PM UTC

fsagx wrote: post #104

Notorious_BLT wrote: post #39

I'm firmly of the opinion that a lot of wellness fads spring up fields like tech because its a field where traditional religious views are rarer. People latch on to these new belief systems that are like religion in most ways beside name. They all have a set of rigid rules to follow and rituals to perform, and they all have some type of self-denial or sacrifice as one of their core values. Fasting, temperance, Whole3…

I've also come to the same conclusion. Many people, if they are not attached to a traditional religion, will similarly attach to something else. The human mind may have a god-shaped or religion-shaped hole in it.

Less romantically and probably more accurately, you could call it a "superstition-shaped" hole.

Re: Jack Dorsey Is Gwyneth Paltrow for Silicon Valley

#153

Post by andreilys » Thu, May 02, 2019, 7:06 PM UTC

_bxg1 wrote: post #45

All of these fads center around one fundamental trait: the sense of having control over your life. It doesn't matter whether they work; they sell you on the experience of "I'm successfully doing this hard thing to make myself better". And it just so happens that Silicon Valley is full of people who are addicted to the sensation of improvement. Eating disorders stem from the same psychological mechanism, just a differ…

Things I learned today: fasting is an eating disorder.

I suppose all the Muslims/Christians that observe Ramadan/Lent also have an eating disorder?

Re: Jack Dorsey Is Gwyneth Paltrow for Silicon Valley

#154

Post by andreilys » Thu, May 02, 2019, 7:08 PM UTC

joelrunyon wrote: post #26

I'm curious how they compare "fasting" - which people have been doing for thousands of years and has traditions in nearly every major historical + religious culture and cost nothing with "jade eggs." Doesn't quite seem equivalent...

Yes it truly boggles the mind, but then you realize most of these outlets are struggling for clicks and it all starts to make sense.

Re: Jack Dorsey Is Gwyneth Paltrow for Silicon Valley

#155

Post by andreilys » Thu, May 02, 2019, 7:10 PM UTC

elliekelly wrote: post #81

farquaad wrote: post #18

Comparing Jack Dorsey to Gwyneth Paltrow is unfair because she made money by recommending Goop products. Dorsey, on the other hand, is being open about his lifestyle because people ask him about it.

I'm glad someone said this. As far as I know Dorsey just discusses his love of pseudo-science while Paltrow actively shills it for profit.

Curious which of Dorsey's practices you consider pseudo-science?

Both meditation and fasting have been practiced for thousands of years and have plenty of scientific studies backing up their benefits.

Re: Jack Dorsey Is Gwyneth Paltrow for Silicon Valley

#156

Post by _bxg1 » Thu, May 02, 2019, 7:11 PM UTC

andreilys wrote: post #153

_bxg1 wrote: post #45

All of these fads center around one fundamental trait: the sense of having control over your life. It doesn't matter whether they work; they sell you on the experience of "I'm successfully doing this hard thing to make myself better". And it just so happens that Silicon Valley is full of people who are addicted to the sensation of improvement. Eating disorders stem from the same psychological mechanism, just a differ…

Things I learned today: fasting is an eating disorder. I suppose all the Muslims/Christians that observe Ramadan/Lent also have an eating disorder?

Don't be needlessly incendiary. Whether or not it's an eating disorder is contextual. It's not just about not eating food for a while; it's about things like the presence or absence of an addictive pattern, and the benefits or detriments to a person's physical and spiritual well-being. I would say in the context of the article, it probably leans towards eating disorder.

Re: Jack Dorsey Is Gwyneth Paltrow for Silicon Valley

#157

Post by bredren » Thu, May 02, 2019, 7:11 PM UTC

mieseratte wrote: post #13

jonny_eh wrote: post #2

Shows that engineers in Silicon Valley aren't any more skeptical than Hollywood. We may consider ourselves smarter, but we're just as susceptible to bullshit as anyone.

I'd had an engineer recently fracture his foot running in a race. He took a day off, went to a doctor and was told he need to wear a boot, stay off his foot for a while, etc. He proceeds to come into the office, proudly informing everyone how he knows better than the doctor, and that he only needs to rub peppermint oil and wear a compression sock. All while hobbling around the office, clearly in pain. Everyone pleade…

It is not just engineers—recall Steve Jobs’ Fruititarian approach to health.

Re: Jack Dorsey Is Gwyneth Paltrow for Silicon Valley

#158

Post by X6S1x6Okd1st » Thu, May 02, 2019, 7:13 PM UTC

padobson wrote: post #132

Some of this stuff definitely seems weird to me, but at the same time I think the weird stuff is built on true stuff. I'm definitely skeptical of people selling home designed cryochambers, but cold stress seems to have real benefits[0], and I've found that a cold shower or a cold jog (15-30 degrees F) seems to have the benefits described by the adherents. Similarly, I doubt I'll ever go on any sort of meditation retr…

I've been ending my showers with cold, basically washing off a lot of the excess heat from the previously hot shower. It honestly feels pretty good & def makes me happier about stepping out of the shower.

Re: Jack Dorsey Is Gwyneth Paltrow for Silicon Valley

#159

Post by andreilys » Thu, May 02, 2019, 7:13 PM UTC

XaoDaoCaoCao wrote: post #107

Fasting, cold showers, and meditation? Can't read the full article but remember another article painting Dorsey as "extreme". But to be honest, it's a reasonable reaction to stimuli that are unique to human history. The 24 hour propoganda news cycle, density with increased stressors, cognitive fragmentatiom due to the number of distractions, and an absolutely horrible dietary culture that will lead us to squandering…

Absolutely. I think a lot of people are throwing the baby out with the bathwater here.

The infrared bulbs may be gimmicky but the rest of his routine seems pretty standard stuff that if more people adopted would lead to an increase in their quality of life.

Re: Jack Dorsey Is Gwyneth Paltrow for Silicon Valley

#160

Post by CM30 » Thu, May 02, 2019, 7:24 PM UTC

jonny_eh wrote: post #2

Shows that engineers in Silicon Valley aren't any more skeptical than Hollywood. We may consider ourselves smarter, but we're just as susceptible to bullshit as anyone.

Is any one group particularly skeptical in the greater scheme of things? Even in various scientific fields you see people believing insane things about subjects they're not experts in. Like say, believing anti vax theories, creationism/intelligent design, etc.