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This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

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Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#131

Post by randomchars »

tn13 wrote: post #79

Doesn't make sense to me at all. Yes, it is really good thing to be really busy with something in life. But are you really that busy that you dont have time to enjoy a good healthy meal? What abut sex ? What about girlfriend or wife ? Hey and is sleeping is also waste of time ? Well, there are always pathological cases like this particular man in question but I dont think anyone else should even try this sort of stuf…

You don't need sex to stay alive. As for sleeping there are attempts to hack that too. [0] Not everyone thinks that spending 30 minutes or more to prepare a meal is worth their time so they time to minimize it: from take-outs to microwave food. As many already said in this thread, this would be a step-up for many.

You can't blame him for trying. That's more than most of us are doing.

There are also many people who would try this, including me. We don't know what we don't know and this might be a way to find out. Is cutting your life by a few years worth prolonging the lifes of billions of others?

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphasic_sleep

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#132

Post by aplusbi »

jl6 wrote: post #119
grecy wrote: post #53

Eating to me is a leisure activity, like going to the movies, but I don't want to go to the movies three times a day. For anyone that doesn't understand that statement, I recommend taking a few years off work, where you spend your time getting up early every day, doing something all day (hiking, walking, gardening, building, whatever) and go to bed late in the evening (i.e. Full days of activities you want to be doin…

I don't get it, don't you have to buy, cook, eat every day even when you are working?

I think the point is that doing these things is a welcome distraction from work.

Eating becomes a chore when you could be doing something better.

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#133

Post by dhughes »

Interesting an I've seen it discussed a lot in sci-fi and on reddit too.

But I wonder if his throat will start to constrict from lack of bulk going down it, he probably needs some bulk or at least the option of liquid and solid.

Plus his teeth and gums will probably suffer from lack of stimulation.

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#134

Post by zeteo »

baak wrote: post #126
zeteo wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>an impatient _software engineer_ comes along and claims to have [succeeded with a] task that specialists have so far failed at The guy who invented the spreadsheet didn't have to absorb all available accounting literature first, and Elon Musk didn't spend 30 years in the Apollo program before being allowed to send his own rocket to space. Nutrition is a field full of pseudoscience and highly susceptible to disruptio…

Elon Musk designed the rocket? All by himself? Wow! What a renaissance man. I figured he had physicists, engineers, mathematicians, biologists, chemists, and you name it. But I guess he just read a few books on his weekends and that was enough to design and launch the rocket. This guy is a hobbyist who is claiming his diet has cured most of his ails. You aren't the least bit suspicious of that claim?

>I guess [Musk] just read a few books on his weekends and that was enough to design and launch the rocket

Ah, I love it when people think they're sarcastic but they're correct:

>"I was sitting behind [Elon Musk] on the flight back to London when he looked at me over the seat and said, 'I think we can build a rocket ourselves.'" He showed Cantrell the spreadsheet he'd been working on. "I looked at it and said, I'll be damned — that's why he's been borrowing all my books. He'd been borrowing all my college textbooks on rocketry and propulsion. You know, whenever anybody asks Elon how he learned to build rockets, he says, 'I read books.' Well, it's true. He devoured those books. He knew everything. He's the smartest guy I've ever met, and he'd been planning to build a rocket all along. [1]

[1]http://www.esquire.com/features/americans-2012/elon-musk-int...

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#135

Post by aplusbi »

jboggan wrote: post #56
dkasper wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah some sci-fi books/films have incorporated that idea. For example the scene in the Matrix where they eat goop that contains "everything the body needs".

"It doesn't have everything the body needs." - Mouse I'd be interested in the long term effects on cognition and mood. I already supplement my eating with mixes of protein powder and half n' half, this could be an interesting addition.

Then you'd probably be interested in this: http://www.angryman.ca/monkey.html

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#136

Post by criley »

yanowitz wrote: post #116
criley wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You sound like an industry-insider explaining why a new startup will fail. "They're too young!" "They don't have the experience" "We've devoted our LIVES to figuring this out, one kid in his basement didn't do it in a few weeks!" Etc etc No offense but we've heard the exact same thing about every successful idea. And what's more: People look at the human GI totally wrong anyway. They think, what can I put in to get t…

I think that's a total misreading of the criticisms. This actually is a hard problem and the science well short of consensus. The surface area of the problem seems to grow every year as scientists publish new research. That seems like a good indication that the odds of this (relatively) uninformed approach being a great one is low.

I don't, I have a BS in Biology and these kind of disruptive ideas are exciting to me. After spending years studying biochemistry and nutrition, I realize that a lot of evidence is out there is crap.

Nutrition isn't some old-guard field with a hundred years of solid decided science weighing it down. In my opinion it's like genetics, a fast moving, exciting field full of interesting ideas and disruptive possibility.

Quite frankly, our understanding of the human GI and human nutrition is still rather pathetic, and a lot of the "common wisdom" is based on misinformation and bad evidence.

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#137

Post by nickheer »

I (half-Swiss) like efficiency as much as the next HN reader, but at a certain point, efficiency must be weighed against enjoyability. I can't imagine not eating a delicious roasted vegetable strudel with a balsamic vinegar reduction, or potatoes with crème fraîche and chives in puff pastry. I delight in the delicacy required to prepare these items, and enjoy eating them even more.

Cooking is (obviously) an activity that is not enjoyed by everyone, but it's an enormous leap to call it "a waste of time". Imagine, if you will, that someone has invented a speedy way of deodorizing yourself without water and soap, as showering is as much a waste of time. Sounds great, until you realize that there is a reason for these rituals. It takes me away from code, writing, and working, and offers me a moment to clear my head. What does your morning shower take you away from? What does preparing your breakfast, a cup of coffee, or dinner take you away from?

Not everything needs to be optimized for efficiency. If you've ever been to France, you'll know that many people spend an hour or more at breakfast. It slows people down, and provides them a chance to think, contemplate, and relax. Sometimes, the very act of something being inefficient can be beneficial in its own right.

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#138

Post by trentlott »

baak wrote: post #95
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe not as dangerous as a stead diet of McD's. See it in persepective. He's at least trying, not just stuffing his mouthhole with salt-sugar-fat crap.

Nobody is claiming steady McD's is healthy. There are actually people on the OP link and this thread who are posting that they want to try his system. That's what is scary. This paragraph from his blog: "I feel like the six million dollar man. My physique has noticeably improved, my skin is clearer, my teeth whiter, my hair thicker and my dandruff gone. My resting heart rate is lower, I haven't felt the least bit sic…

Being that he didn't actually tell us what was in his formula, I smell an amateur (or not-so) marketing campaign.

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#140

Post by zeteo »

grhino wrote: post #130
zeteo wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>an impatient _software engineer_ comes along and claims to have [succeeded with a] task that specialists have so far failed at The guy who invented the spreadsheet didn't have to absorb all available accounting literature first, and Elon Musk didn't spend 30 years in the Apollo program before being allowed to send his own rocket to space. Nutrition is a field full of pseudoscience and highly susceptible to disruptio…

He could be one of the rare ones that doesn't enjoy food, so he doesn't understand why eating food is often a social experience. Even if it does turn out to be the perfect drink, though I would think you could find something similar as a meal substitute shake, MRE, or for people who can't chew. There's probably already a market for something like this that is being targeted.

So maybe he'll make a killing in the meal substitute market. Or maybe he'll become the poster boy for why you need boron in your diet and you'll die horribly without it. Either way, we'll all learn something new and useful.
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