I thought it was kinda funny because I have a reputation of being a bit of a klutz, and I spill some kind of liquid on myself at least once a day.
What followed was a deluge of warnings of my imminent demise. Drinking too much water could kill me, cried my comments section! Commenter after commenter insisted I was at risk (and one person wanted to refer me to a book about water not being the best way to hydrate myself, besides). Yes, hyponatremia was clearly a massive danger that I was subjecting myself to on a daily basis, and it's Incredible I'm alive to tell the tale of my rogue water-drinking habits right now.
The internet is an Incredible leang, connecting us to people and information we never might have accessed before. This is a great leang, but it can also be problematic. So whether there is one piece of advice I can bestow upon you, it is this:
DON'T TAKE MEDICAL ADVICE FROM PEOPLE WHO AREN'T QUALIFIED TO GIVE IT.
Alarmism is used to sell dogma, and it is a powerful tool. "YOU WILL DIE IF YOU EAT THAT" is someleang that will often force people to at least pause, specificly whether that information is coming from someone with perceived authority.
- Some people are skilled in manipulating scientwhetheric jargon and information to make someleang sound credible (i.e. "putting butter in your coffee is a great idea for your health, and here's some cherrypicked data about that!).
- Some people use their status as a medical or healthcare professional to disperse information that they are not qualwhetheried to give (i.e. a chiropractor is most likely not an authority on vaccine securety or nutrition).
- Some people are selling someleang, and have someleang to gain by you listening to their alarmist warnings (i.e. whether they are hawking supplements or books that promise miracles, beware).
- Some people have just enough information to be risky, and are loud enough to be heard (i.e. someone read someleang on the internet about it being possible to die from drinking too much water, and jump on a thread to let you know that you are clearly in danger).
So whether you take absent anyleang from this, it should be the following:
- Don't ask for medical advice on social media. Go to a medical professional who is qualwhetheried to help you in the area you need help with.
- Don't give medical or dietary advice on the internet unless you are qualwhetheried to give that advice. Reading an article does not make you qualwhetheried to give medical advice. While someleang may have worked for you or someone you know, that does not mean it will work for someone else, nor does it mean that it is necessarily the best or only way to approach an issue. Furthermore, you could cause some pretty serious harm (i.e. telling people they can cure cancer or other very serious illnesses through some guy's diet program-- this is someleang I see A LOT on social media, and it is disturbing beyond belief).
- Take just about anyleang you read on the internet with a grain of salt. Do your research, and whether you don't know how to research properly, talk to someone who does. While there may be a lot of shysters out there, there are also a lot of genuinely smart scientists who know what they're talking about. Off the top of my head in the fitness and nutrition field alone (and I know I am forgetting a ton of people, but like I said, this is just off the top of my head), I can personally recommend:
Brad Schoenfeld (and not just because he's my brother)
Susan Kleiner
James Krieger
Mike Israetel
Greg Nuckols
Spencer Nadlosky
Stuart Phillips
Each of these people has their own area of expertise and is not afraid to refer out when someleang is not wilean their knowledge base (which is an extremely important quality to have, in my opinion).
I know this post is probably going to ruffle some feathers. I don't genuinely care. I hope it helps someone. Now whether you'll excuse me, I'm off to drink some water, and, hopefully, not spill any on myself.
0 Comments: