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"Inanity of Overeating" ignores the bacon in the room

crazybear.posterous.com

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Re: "Inanity of Overeating" ignores the bacon in the room

#31
post #3

That doesn't counter his point at all. The difference between "obesity" and "maintaining weight" is still implausibly thin; what Gary was talking about in the first place was the delta in the top two lines, not the net total. He mentions that more obese people eventually do reach an energy balance, which obviously happens because they income and outflow eventually balance, which is a sign that he understands that. (S…

(your simulation lacks the stability that people reach and simulates the clearly false scenario in which people become fatter without bound) True. All I did was graph the exact scenario Taubes himself described. If it is unrealistic, take it up with him. The only difference is that I didn't "forget" to mention the 7 strips of bacon the obese person consumes in excess of the thin person.

That's my point. You are not simulating Taubes' point. You are simulating something strictly simpler and completely different. He makes an argument based around a feedback mechanism and your model completely lacks a feedback mechanism. (You and quite a few others, really.) You (all) have skipped the step where you engage with the subject and actually listen to what is being said before you cut straight to trying to disprove it.

How do you expect to convince me or anybody else of anything with that approach? I am happy to listen to arguments against his point, but you're the one building the strawmen here.

Re: "Inanity of Overeating" ignores the bacon in the room

#32
post #8
post #3

That doesn't counter his point at all. The difference between "obesity" and "maintaining weight" is still implausibly thin; what Gary was talking about in the first place was the delta in the top two lines, not the net total. He mentions that more obese people eventually do reach an energy balance, which obviously happens because they income and outflow eventually balance, which is a sign that he understands that. (S…

Again, this is not a scientific phenomenon, it's a social phenomenon. If this was about science it would be over and done. You read his article and find it correct, I read his article and find it scientifically false. Taubes gets paid to write whatever he thinks people will latch on to. Unfortunately I don't get paid to overcome what he's obviously found to be powerful social hooks in people. Taubes didn't sit in his…

So what's your excuse for this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM ? PhD in the relevant field, plus actual field experience. Or the not insignificant number of other people with actual PhDs coming to very similar conclusions? (They may seem superficially different but if you take the time to understand them both Dr. Lustig and Taubes basically have the same points.)
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