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Soylent Campaign

campaign.soylent.me

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191–200 of 608 posts

Re: Soylent Campaign

#191

Post by tutu »

chasing wrote: post #65

"Soylent is perfectly balanced and optimized for your body and lifestyle, meaning it automatically puts you at an optimal weight, makes you feel full, and improves your focus and cognition." Bull-fucking-shit. This is a product made by four twenty-somethings, none of whom appears to have a background in nutrition or any kind of health studies. To trust your health to these people would be fucking stupid. Jesus. Also:…

Have you even read up on the background of this? He makes a pretty solid argument for what's in Soylent in one of his earliest blog posts: http://robrhinehart.com/?p=424

Obviously the guy has a background in chemistry or biology. As we all know, you don't have to go to school in a subject to become an "expert" in it.

Re: Soylent Campaign

#192

Post by w1ntermute »

fredsters_s wrote: post #187
w1ntermute wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone else in biotech, I agree with your sentiment. I would advise the guys behind this to go back to making social networking and photo sharing apps and leave biotech to those who know what they're doing. You can't just say "oops" and apologize when you put someone in the hospital, or worse. It's not like if someone hacks your Instagram account.

You are EVERYthing that is wrong with startups. I would advise you to quit criticising the audacity of a team that is trying to change the world for the better. How many startups can legitimately say that?!

In your boundless zeal for "innovation," you have completely failed to comprehend what I was saying. Putting someone in the hospital is no laughing matter. You can't just "iterate" and "learn from your mistakes" in biotech. We're talking about life and death here, not some filtered hipster cat photos.

Re: Soylent Campaign

#193

Post by kkty »

Xanza wrote: post #164
Afforess wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...compared to eating out. His comparison was eating out almost every meal. $230 is cheaper than grocery shopping for a month for a lot of people too.

I'm a college student -- I live off of ramen noodles, and whatever I can steal at my parents house. $230 per month simply isn't in my budget. I was excited because ramen isn't healthy, in fact I've gained about 30-40lbs because it's basically all I eat; and it's becoming a serious health issue.

as someone who has been in your situation, ramen is actually really expensive, both in terms of $/cooked oz and $/nutrition.

I highly recommend you switch to brown rice, wheat pasta, beans, produce, and cheap cuts of meat. Add in a slow cooker if you don't have much time.

Oh, and as for this soylent product, I would run screaming away. I only read his recipe up to the carbs section, and the fact that he thinks all carbs are the same because they end up as ATP is mind-boggling. It's as if he isn't aware of the huge problem with HFCS. Any biochem undergrad can tell you about the incredible complexity of the feedback and regulatory mechanisms of the body; to focus only on the end product of a mechanism is ignorant at best.

Re: Soylent Campaign

#194

Post by Eliezer »

I'm in for $65, because I've run out of patience with everyone wisely nodding caution and not trying to solve the problem themselves. Like a lot of metabolically disadvantaged people, I feel betrayed and tossed off a cliff by a society that doesn't understand and doesn't care. You want to know how desperate we are? Read this:

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=35...

That's the next alternative if Soylent doesn't work. Now either offer a design for a better food replacement, or shut up and get out of the way.

Re: Soylent Campaign

#195

Post by DanBC »

marknutter wrote: post #156
chasing wrote: post #65

"Soylent is perfectly balanced and optimized for your body and lifestyle, meaning it automatically puts you at an optimal weight, makes you feel full, and improves your focus and cognition." Bull-fucking-shit. This is a product made by four twenty-somethings, none of whom appears to have a background in nutrition or any kind of health studies. To trust your health to these people would be fucking stupid. Jesus. Also:…

Have you ever bought a red bull? Read the can. It says "vitalizes body and mind." I'm sure a lot of people read than and believe it's true. Heck, it may even be true. But it's not breaking any FDA rules, and it's not a harmful claim any more than the claims the Soylent folks are making. Do we not hold any responsibility for what we put into our bodies?

"vitalizes body and mind" is carefully constructed meaningless nonsense.

"For anyone that struggles with allergies, heartburn, acid reflux or digestion, has trouble controlling weight or cholesterol, or simply doesn't have the means to eat well, soylent is for you." is not carefully constructed. It has clear and specific meaning, but it is untested and not yet proved.

Have Soylent really thought about that sentence? What happens when someone with a digestive disorder eats Soylent, thinking they're getting the nutrition they need and then they get even more ill?

> Soylent is perfectly balanced and optimized for your body and lifestyle, meaning it automatically puts you at an optimal weight, makes you feel full, and improves your focus and cognition.

How can they say this? They have no idea what my body and lifestyle is! I could be a 78 year old bed-ridden patient riddled with cancer or a 17 year old who goes out clubbing 5 nights a week.

> By taking years to spoil,

They're claiming their nutrients are stable for years. I seriously doubt that.

Re: Soylent Campaign

#196

Post by DanBC »

Kell wrote: post #168
revelation wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm fine with being positive on the next fun cat photo sharing service, no evil has ever come from that, but they are advertising this as a complete replacement for all your meals without even telling as much as whats in it. That, frankly, should be illegal, and it probably is.

Hu? Not telling you what's in it ? Isn't the recipe open sourced and extensively discussed on their website ? Like here for example : http://robrhinehart.com/?p=424 ?

Weirdly, that page tells you that the creator himself thinks Soylent may be dangerous for people other than him.

> I am reticent to provide exact brand names and instructions because I am not fully convinced of the diet's safety for a physiology different than mine. What if I missed something that's essential for someone of a different race or age group?

Why does he now think it's acceptable to market this to everyone?

Re: Soylent Campaign

#197

Post by vecinu »

iandanforth wrote: post #88

I really enjoy this campaign because it gave me an excuse to compare it with snake oil labels. ( https://www.google.com/search?q=snake+oil+label&tbm=isch... ) The characteristic of this kind of marketing that I enjoy the most is the presence of what I call 'linguistic asymptotes.' These are words that imply a product has unparalleled or infinite properties. On the soylent page we have "ubiquitous", "perfectly", "opti…

That's a very good point and very observant.

I too am highly skeptical of ALL of these claims.

My main gripe with Soylent (ever since I first saw it here on HN a month ago) is that they are making cooking seem like a horrible chore that nobody wants to do.

Shopping is convenient because I go whenever I have time and only buy exactly what I need. At the same time, I also ensure I only buy the best ingredients I can at the moment (Assuming labeling is correct).

A lot of people I know and myself included, LOVE to cook. I love cutting a bell pepper and catching a whiff of its fresh smell in my nostrils. I love sometimes adding different sauces, spices or ingredients in my meals to give them a distinct and unique taste.

And cleaning up is also fun because I recognize I am a responsible adult, able to revert something back to the state I received it in. Just like my bed, or a rental car or my home.

Re: Soylent Campaign

#199

Post by thebooktocome »

w1ntermute wrote: post #160
Afforess wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, it's like the "Hacker News Is Depressing" Article didn't happen. I trust the Soylent folks more than I trust myself purchasing frozen meals in a grocery store. It's hard to be worse than that benchmark.

> trust the Soylent folks more than I trust myself purchasing frozen meals in a grocery store. That's a strawman. You're ignoring the fact that those frozen meals are made by companies who have more experience in the food industry than these 4 clowns combined a million times over. I am MUCH more afraid of the Soylent guys' sheer ignorance than I am of any profit-motivated negligence on the part of large frozen meal c…

As much as I think the nutritionist in the Business Insider piece is right, I wish she could have been somewhat more even in tone. It's hard to link that to people who are predisposed to taking Rhinehart seriously.

Re: Soylent Campaign

#200

Post by katbyte »

vecinu wrote: post #197
iandanforth wrote: post #88

I really enjoy this campaign because it gave me an excuse to compare it with snake oil labels. ( https://www.google.com/search?q=snake+oil+label&tbm=isch... ) The characteristic of this kind of marketing that I enjoy the most is the presence of what I call 'linguistic asymptotes.' These are words that imply a product has unparalleled or infinite properties. On the soylent page we have "ubiquitous", "perfectly", "opti…

That's a very good point and very observant. I too am highly skeptical of ALL of these claims. My main gripe with Soylent (ever since I first saw it here on HN a month ago) is that they are making cooking seem like a horrible chore that nobody wants to do. Shopping is convenient because I go whenever I have time and only buy exactly what I need. At the same time, I also ensure I only buy the best ingredients I can at…

As much as i love cooking, there are times where i would love something that is quick and healthy. not to say soylent is that, just that it would be nice.
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