51–60 of 133 posts
This reminds me of the first "scientific myth" I witnessed. It was in the 80's in France where we had a photocopied page with "the most dangerous additives". The worst was E330. 40 years later, I still remember it. My parents had a copy from sime friends and these well educated people (dad is an engineer and mom a lawyer) checked everything against the list. Just because it was "from the Villejuif hospital". It was a…
This reminds me of the first "scientific myth" I witnessed. It was in the 80's in France where we had a photocopied page with "the most dangerous additives". The worst was E330. 40 years later, I still remember it. My parents had a copy from sime friends and these well educated people (dad is an engineer and mom a lawyer) checked everything against the list. Just because it was "from the Villejuif hospital". It was a…
I don't remember the exact context at this point, but I've definitely encountered someone complaining about "ascorbic acid" as an additive, which is of course vitamin C.
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10,000 is a round number representing a large fraction of a young person’s life, ~20 hours a week for 10 years. It seems significant because we assume talented young people can be experts if they spend a lot of time on something, but it really just reflects the criteria chosen for defining experts and time on a subject. A prerequisite of becoming a Doctor for example is learning how to read, but that’s not considered…
Ericsson's main point is that talent isn't as important as a lot of people, including other experts in the field, think. What matters is identifying your weaknesses and training specifically to improve those, often with the help of a coach. Just doing something for a long time doesn't necessarily make you great at it.
It's a bit like saying a piano player will only use 10% of the keys at a time.
> It's a bit like saying a piano player will only use 10% of the keys at a time. In a pedantic way, it is close to the truth as most pianists use up to 10 keys at a time (a few more if you count pedals). There are many keys available to the pianist but the pianist remains constrained by their input capacity.
I remember seeing Ben Folds once slam his forearm on the keyboard as a deliberately dissonant sort of percussive stab… that was 15-20 keys with just one arm!
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There are plenty of post-internet myths that are humming along just fine. :D It's a crazy phenomenon to watch play out.
Pre-internet, it was harder to debunk myths but also harder to spread them. Nowadays, it’s easier to debunk myths but also much easier to spread them. These do not necessarily cancel out; as they say, “the amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude larger than to produce it.” As an extreme example, pre-internet, a conspiracy theory-inclined person might randomly run across a handful of full-b…
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I don't remember the exact context at this point, but I've definitely encountered someone complaining about "ascorbic acid" as an additive, which is of course vitamin C.
Let's not forget the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide. Used as an industrial solvent, its vapours can cause severe burns, yet they put it in food.
Now look at those who have never consumed dihydrogen monoxide -- they haven't killed anyone.
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> if someone told me 25 years ago that this would be a thing I would have just laughed. Wikipedia says In the modern era, the pseudoscientific belief in a flat Earth originated with the English writer Samuel Rowbotham with the 1849 pamphlet Zetetic Astronomy. In 1956, Samuel Shenton set up the International Flat Earth Research Society (IFERS), better known as the "Flat Earth Society" from Dover, England, as a direct…
Oh my gosh, there are tons of them. My mother-in-law ensures I hear about them all, passionately, each time she visits. Bill and Melinda Gates are cyborgs whose bodies have been replaced. They're trying to track everyone with vaccine microchips. (There were variations on this theme including 5G) Michelle Obama is a man. 9/11 buildings were vaporized by a high-powered, government laser. Chemtrails are full of heavy me…
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> if someone told me 25 years ago that this would be a thing I would have just laughed. Wikipedia says In the modern era, the pseudoscientific belief in a flat Earth originated with the English writer Samuel Rowbotham with the 1849 pamphlet Zetetic Astronomy. In 1956, Samuel Shenton set up the International Flat Earth Research Society (IFERS), better known as the "Flat Earth Society" from Dover, England, as a direct…
Alex Jones isn't real and the man who plays him is part of a massive conspiracy inside the deep state.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
10,000 is a round number representing a large fraction of a young person’s life, ~20 hours a week for 10 years. It seems significant because we assume talented young people can be experts if they spend a lot of time on something, but it really just reflects the criteria chosen for defining experts and time on a subject. A prerequisite of becoming a Doctor for example is learning how to read, but that’s not considered…
Ericsson's main point is that talent isn't as important as a lot of people, including other experts in the field, think. What matters is identifying your weaknesses and training specifically to improve those, often with the help of a coach. Just doing something for a long time doesn't necessarily make you great at it.