Sunday, March 23, 2014

self-proclaimed "experts"

Alas, the self-publishing (and self-PROMOTING) world of blogging has promoted a huge set of wannabes into comparative prominence!  I DEPLORE the mass of worldly fuck-ups who pretend to knowledge they OBVIOUSLY don't have.

By and large they are all half-educated individuals who don't have the nous to attain excellence, but want us to think they do anyhow.  They hide behind ancient photographs and exaggerated credentials.  They think that because they've "studied" certain aspects of health for many years, they have a firm grasp of EVERYTHING that is to be known about it.

News flash, O thou pseudo-congnoscenti -- i'm intelligent and educated and interested in health and i don't know JACK SHIT, compared to the TRULY knowledgeable -- and i ain't talking about the walking JOKES who are the amateur gurus of the poorly-informed.

Who DOES know what they're talking about?  Jan Kwasniewski, who has healed tens of thousands through a carefully-crafted nutritional plan.  The Drs Eades, who have helped hundreds of thousands.  Robert Atkins, who has probably helped MILLIONS by this time.  I'm also very attached to Blake Donaldson, may he rest in peace.  His book is an inspiration.

Who, whose mind-products are within daily reach of those with internet access, are to be relied upon?  Drs Briffa and Kendrick in the UK are conventionally trained but are able to think for themselves and thus surpass the mass of plodding medicos to be found every day.

Over here, Kurt Harris wins the prize in my opinion.  I recently read his entire archive, and i was impressed.  I like Cate Shanahan too, but she hasn't yet reached his level of communication even if she does have the background and intelligence (give her time and experience...).  Then, there is Chris Masterjohn, who was showing huge promise long before he got to put DR before his name.  It's too bad he's not actually treating patients -- that makes a HUGE difference because otherwise people don't learn when their hypotheses don't work in practice, even if they sound good on paper....  I still grieve that Stephan Guyenet betrayed Truth for Gain;  his first work, while working toward his PhD, was considered and highly intelligent, but when he latched onto a Trademark Hypothesis, he completely fell on his ass.

Special Mention absolutely goes to Peter Dobromylskyj!  As a veterinarian, he got the same kind of education a human doctor gets, and less pressure to conform while speaking of human health.  And he's bloody BRILLIANT.  I can imagine how second-raters must hate him, because that's the way of the world....

I have a huge amount of respect for Itsthewooo, because she is this close () to slaying the Hydra and she lives to tell the tale.  The battle has been long and bloody, but the obesity-aspect is dead on the ground, and all of the other physiological enemies are doomed.  Her struggles continue to be painful, but her internet family is beside her all the way.

Mark Sisson and Robb Wolf hold a special place in my estimation -- i don't list their blogs myself, but i respect their good qualities.  I often send newbies to their sites, because i know they provide a sound, approachable introduction to paleo/primal principles.

There are quite a number of other bloggers of whom i have a good opinion, but this post is getting a bit long.  Allow me to move on to those who are ... um ... less impressive.

Some i used to have on my blog list, but have been removed because of their sloppily unprofessional ideas, include the Jaminets.  They started out sound, but as they got rather swelled heads they went right down the tubes as far as i'm concerned.  When they left the area in which they were PERSONALLY knowledgeable, and "progressed" to subjects in which they merely parroted the "knowledge" of others, they totally lost their believability.  Ya gotta stick to what ya knows....  Ditto for Kresser -- he knows a bit, but not ENOUGH.  I guess that's the difference between a thorough medical education and the shortcut version he had.  Tell me, do "alternative" practitioners serve an internship and residency?  Sounds like that's where the rubber hits the road.

Some bloggers have never been on my list and will never be on my list because they're IDIOTS with oversized delusions of their own significance.  I'll only list them and tell why i despise them if pressed to do so by their protesting chelas.  (A chela is the student of a guru, for those of you not interested in Eastern philosophy.)  Chelas they are, because what these medical-wannabes preach is RELIGION, not science.  And the louder they insist that yes they really are, really truly scientists, the more my BS meter alarms.  Most of them are less-than-world-class jocks, ne'er-do-wells, and failed academicians.

The merchants of crapola, who love picking fights online because they don't have to show themselves to do it, i PREFER not to discuss.  They nauseate me (and since my bout of gastritis, my stomach is tender enough).  I HATE to read their rantings, just like i hate to read politicians' material -- it's so full of transparent LIES, ignorance, exaggerations, and evidence of bad character traits, i feel like i've been rolling in feces if i open their websites.  ...PLEASE don't make me go there to quote their inanities!

14 comments:

  1. Hi Tess

    Have you noticed how unhealthy some of these so called experts look. Those that have not removed all photographs of themselves, no names no pack drill. Banging on year after year as if they were Nobel Prize winning Scientists, yet morbidly obese. Others, clearly very unhappy with their lot, but never let on what really pains them. At the end of the day they offer nothing of any value to the overweight or growing army of diabetics.

    Our little team make a bit of noise in the UK, which is a miniscule audience compared to the US. We ask no one to believe us, but we ask for an open mind. Our information can be self verified very quickly. The blood glucose meter, the blood pressure meter, weighing scales and tape measure. Blood tests all diabetics receive. We have discovered nothing, and have only passed on what we have learned from books, from the internet, from forums, and some great bloggers. To quote one of the greatest Scientists in history.

    “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” Isaac Newton

    Other than the rare geniuses, that come along every now and again, everything we know, we learnt from others. We must never forget that. All we can do is pass it on. And if we are very fortunate, every now and again, we can stand on the shoulders of giants.

    Kind regards Eddie

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    1. that's all i can do -- pass on what i've learned through reading and by my own experience. and vent, when the world's stupidity gets me down! ;-)

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  2. The more I learn, I feel like the less I know! Well said, Tess! A good scientist is a humble scientist!

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    1. you and me both, Almond! it really humbles me, reading Peter's blog and the "advanced" questions he gets (and answers)!

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  3. Interesting. Then you're aware that Dr. Harris supported Carbsane and loathed Jimmy (and became increasingly skeptical of Taubes).

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    1. "Christopher," you're not welcome here. I don't put up with little shits like you the way Woo does. so fuck off. you won't be allowed to leave any more messages, so don't even try.

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  4. VWS, Tess. Though I think I'd add George Henderson to your list.
    I don't know if I can follow your example and read all of Harris though I recall skimming there a while back. Seems his arrogance got the better of him in the end, but at least he had the sense to walk away instead of letting the shite overtake his life.
    Is that a yapping lapdog I hear whining in the background? I wish Heavylyn would put keep a muzzle and leash on him.

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    1. hi, Jill! yes, I think very well of George. I only cut my list short because it was a little long already -- if I included everyone I like, it would have been REALLY long!

      the secret to Harris is to only read HIS blog. ;-) when I first came across him, it was in comments on other people's, and he did put me off. but circumstances popped up from time to time so that I went to his page to see what people were discussing, and I noticed an entirely different tone there.

      during our long cold winter, I was reading extensively and something inspired me to read his work from the beginning. I WAS impressed. his discussions are extremely reasonable and easy to understand -- you've got to know your subject well to explain to laypeople in a manner they can relate to! the point at which he started doing more physical work and needed more fuel, so added more carbs didn't turn him into a nut like it does with some people. :-)

      reading through the Hyperlipid archive, I've seen numerous comments from Harris, but none of them have been snarky -- it probably has to do with the tone of the discussion over there. mostly, I don't read the sites he frequents, I guess. I get the impression that he doesn't suffer fools gladly, so if he's tangling with fools on those sites, it's probably why I don't read them.

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    2. So much reading to do, so little time :-)

      I wonder if Carbsane realizes how little credibility she has left with froot loops like Christopher and Grashow running around the net screaming "Jimmy!" and "Taubes!" and "lipids!" like ADHD kids - not that she had much credibility to start with, but they're the icing on the cake of her internet whackjob status.

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    3. "you're known by the company you keep." :-O oh dear -- I fear for the reputations of all the kind people who read and comment here!

      it's AMAZING how Jimmy's name pops up in retorts all over the place! frankly, he's a nice man but another self-promoter -- I doubt I've mentioned him a half-dozen times here. but the level of Jimmy-fixation kinda reminds me of "BENGAZI!!!!!" [evil grin] whatcha wanna bet Heavilyn is a teabagger?

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  5. I read a lot of blogs (far too many; those are hours of my life I'll never recover!) but rarely comment as I don't have time or energy to get swept up in the nonsense...
    But as you do, I am filled w/endless admiration for my colleague Peter D - still trying to find my own middle ground in this imperfect world.

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    1. the farther i've gotten along, reading Hyperlipid, the more impressed i get (and i started at a high baseline)....

      certainly, he's an excellent poster-boy for the Optimal Diet -- his brilliance and clarity-of-mind WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR make a lot of the inferior bloggers (of whom i'm one) sound pretty stupid! :-)

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