From strange beliefs in Sugar to Paleo, Crossfit, and Raw Super Foods. Supplement Ads, Deadly Cardio, and Women Bulking. People believe in some weird shit. Its much too easy ripping people off with misinformation in Fitness and Health. Go back further or to distant lands, and you find people have believed in some really strange things. From dirty rags creating mice, hands that dont need washing, and electrical fans that will kill you if the windows are closed. Seems pretty stupid, right? Truth and logic always lose to wonderfully painted landscapes. We believe these things because that is the norm. The standard state of what you choose to believe is not logically dissembled, instead it is chosen because thats what everyone else thinks. A common belief fallacy. If others believe it, than it must be true. Not so fast. Those beliefs are based on opinions, which are based on conformity, emotions, and popularity. We have a system to counter our stupidity. The scientific method. The slow process of science is objective. It is us that through interpretation lack any sort of objectivity, confirming only our assumptions and avoiding any null hypothesis. Sciences job is to dis-confirm our beliefs in order to give shape to the truth. The deeper you go, the more you find this is less about the trendy new target for the media and populous to exploit, and more about getting to know ourselves. Who are you exactly? I am me. I am unique. All that you know is the self. Everything that you encounter in your life from the dawn of life till the dusk of death is trapped inside of that brain of yours. The experience is not shared. Reality is not just an objective look through a video camera. Reality and experience are based on chemical reactions and neurons firing in the brain. The interpretations of all of that camera footage becomes your narrative bias. It is your personal story that you have created. You are the hero that wades his/her way through adversaries via chapters and episodes. Understand that and the self doesnt exist. It is just a story. You build a strong connection to the stories that you fabricate, it is everything that is you. The brain converts chaos into meaning with false clarity and ad hoc connections. Debunk a chapter of your experience?! You will lose a part of you. Cognitive dissonance unfolds to stabilize behavior, it keeps the narrative going. When defining the self, we often fallback on the groups and peers that we associate with. Often believed that the individuals interests is what led them to the group. In reality, the group you have found yourself mingling with have defined you. You mold yourself via signaling to display the image that will grant you higher social capital. We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be-Kurt Vonnegut The choices you make, the things that you buy, the image that you portray, and the story that you tell are all grounded with pleasing the group ideals as you bend for the collective. The greater investment, the stronger your feelings. Blasting someone on social media (or the real world) for false assumptions and shotty logic will not grant you instant gratification. When minds change, they do so slowly. The self-story cant just switch around, flip flopping back and forth. The brain has to go back and rewrite pages, this is a process. Remember, stories are a form of entertainment. So complexity and accuracy are often exchanged for fear, humor, or a riveting drama. When a persons ideology is threatened, the highest areas of the cortex(used for rational thought) shutdown. To sum it all up- The outrageous claims made by the fitness and health industry stand on post hoc rationalization. You choose to allow that content to be inserted into your story if the shoes fits. That choice is less about your own beliefs but more on the beliefs of the groups you have associated with. This is because you are a better story teller than you are a skeptic. If confronted with an opposing view, you will most likely shut off the rational part of your brain. Who you are is just a narration, so opposing views dont flip a persons reality instantly. Instead are built slowly, if at all. Chas Gonnello
Posted on: Sat, 14 Jun 2014 02:57:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015