Why aren't we educated about our health?

OldWiseGuy · Mar 29, 2020

Speedwell said:
That is the consequence of lazy HR staffers looking for an easy way to screen applicants.

I fully agree. Such companies are likely poorly managed at all levels. One of the most successful new companies with a national market on the scene did two fundament things correctly. They spent much time and effort hiring the right people, and they remained a closely-held private company.

Ricky M · Mar 29, 2020

OldWiseGuy said:
The internet is a very valuable tool for health education. What I mean is that without a degree you have no cred or standing in the intellectual community.

Our political leaders all have degrees. A piece of paper does not intelligence make.

grasping the after wind · Mar 29, 2020

As there is conflicting information and conflicting experts in the field on what is and is not healthful, I think the idea that people are simply not being told what constitutes a healthy diet to be a somewhat dubious idea.

People are constantly being told by multiple sources which contradict each other what they should and should not eat. I submit that confusion and lack of consensus along with people's individual tastes for food rather than lack of education is what drives the modern diet.

I suspect that just as each person has a preference for specific tastes in food that differ from other people, there is no single healthy diet for every human being and that different humans react differently to different foods from the perspective of their health. If so, then that adds to the confusion as depending upon the makeup of a test group in a study one might get completely different results. Additionally, It has been alleged that the government recommended food pyramid may have been as much a matter of lobbying by some sectors of agriculture as it was based upon scientific data. If my suspicion is correct, and different people need different diets then we are barking up the wrong tree to insist that X is universally a good food and Y is universally a bad food and we need to be more concerned with the individual genetic disposition of each of us in terms of which foods are healthy for us individually.

Speedwell · Mar 29, 2020

OldWiseGuy said:
I think logic and critical thinking are more a product of experience than of (formal) education.

For most of us it is a matter of formal education. Only the greatest philosophers have been able to come up with axiomatic formal systems like logic on their own. As for critical thinking, it appears you are confusing it with "common sense." Critical thinking is often at odds with common sense, which is really only useful in the most mundane situations.

grasping the after wind · Mar 29, 2020

Speedwell said:
For most of us it is a matter of formal education. Only the greatest philosophers have been able to come up with axiomatic formal systems like logic on their own. As for critical thinking, it appears you are confusing it with "common sense." Critical thinking is often at odds with common sense, which is really only useful in the most mundane situations.

Depends upon one's definition of common sense I suppose. If, as I do , one sees common sense as examining situations with the use of healthy skepticism leveled with confidence in the validity of Occam's razor I think one would find it is very useful at all times. If one sees common sense as accepting the conventional wisdom then not so much.

Critical thinking ought to be a matter of education but I am afraid much of education is aimed at consensus thinking rather than critical thinking. Instructing student what is correct thinking rather than how to think correctly.

jayem · Mar 29, 2020

OldWiseGuy said:
Our immune system is vitally important for our health. Yet Americans have terribly unhealthy immune systems. This knowledge should make it from the laboratory to the educational system and then into the general knowledge of the people shouldn't it? Thoughts?

Immunology is an enormous topic. What aspect of it do you think should be better known?

There are many on-line resources available. Here's a college-level introductory course from Rice U. A tuition fee applies. But is something like this what you were suggesting?

Fundamentals of Immunology | Coursera

OldWiseGuy · Mar 29, 2020

Speedwell said:
For most of us it is a matter of formal education. Only the greatest philosophers have been able to come up with axiomatic formal systems like logic on their own. As for critical thinking, it appears you are confusing it with "common sense." Critical thinking is often at odds with common sense, which is really only useful in the most mundane situations.

"Faithful in little, faithful in much."

OldWiseGuy · Mar 29, 2020

jayem said:
Immunology is an enormous topic. What aspect of it do you think should be better known?

There are many on-line resources available. Here's a college-level introductory course from Rice U. A tuition fee applies. But is something like this what you were suggesting?

Fundamentals of Immunology | Coursera

I was aiming more for knowledge that would help people improve the health of their immune systems. Learning about the immune system doesn't provide that knowledge.

Ricky M · Mar 29, 2020

OldWiseGuy said:
I was aiming more for knowledge that would help people improve the health of their immune systems. Learning about the immune system doesn't provide that knowledge.

Yeah, it does. Don't you have to know what parts make up a car in order to figure out how to make it run better?

jayem · Mar 29, 2020

OldWiseGuy said:
I was aiming more for knowledge that would help people improve the health of their immune systems. Learning about the immune system doesn't provide that knowledge.

There's no mystery about that. It's just a matter of good health habits in general: don't smoke; don't do drugs; eat a well-balanced diet; exercise sensibly; and try to avoid stress, or learn how to deal with it.

And very important for good immunity...get your recommended vaccinations.

OldWiseGuy · Mar 29, 2020

Ricky M said:
Yeah, it does. Don't you have to know what parts make up a car in order to figure out how to make it run better?

People seem to be ignorant of it, or don't think it's very important. How do we account for that?

OldWiseGuy · Mar 29, 2020

jayem said:
There's no mystery about that. It's just a matter of good health habits in general: don't smoke; don't do drugs; eat a well-balanced diet; exercise sensibly; and try to avoid stress, or learn how to deal with it.

Good advice. So why don't people do this?

grasping the after wind · Mar 29, 2020

Ricky M said:
Yeah, it does. Don't you have to know what parts make up a car in order to figure out how to make it run better?

No actually you don't. Get the oil changed regularly and gas up with the proper kind of gas for your vehicle , don't let the car sit for extended periods of time without starting it up and running it for a bit, have it inspected on a regular basis, wash off as much salt as possible during the winter etc. etc. To keep it running properly you just need to be told what sorts of things the driver can do to keep the car in good shape. You don't need to know how to take one apart and put it back together unless you want to be a mechanic.

Speedwell · Mar 29, 2020

OldWiseGuy said:
"Faithful in little, faithful in much."

?

Speedwell · Mar 29, 2020

grasping the after wind said:
No actually you don't. Get the oil changed regularly and gas up with the proper kind of gas for your vehicle , don't let the car sit for extended periods of time without starting it up and running it for a bit, have it inspected on a regular basis, wash off as much salt as possible during the winter etc. etc. To keep it running properly you just need to be told what sorts of things the driver can do to keep the car in good shape. You don't need to know how to take one apart and put it back together unless you want to be a mechanic.

No, that's just how you keep in running as well as it does. In order to make it run better you are just going to need to have some "book-larnin."

grasping the after wind · Mar 29, 2020

Speedwell said:
No, that's just how you keep in running as well as it does. In order to make it run better you are just going to need to have some "book-larnin."

No all you need to know is a good mechanic. Let him/her get the larnin.
And I would prefer the larnin came by hands on experience rather than out of a book.

Speedwell · Mar 29, 2020

grasping the after wind said:
No all you need to know is a good mechanic. Let him/her get the larnin.

Anything to avoid it, I suppose.

klutedavid · Mar 29, 2020

OldWiseGuy said:
Our immune system is vitally important for our health. Yet Americans have terribly unhealthy immune systems. This knowledge should make it from the laboratory to the educational system and then into the general knowledge of the people shouldn't it? Thoughts?

People do not want to exercise and they definitely don't want to eat a healthy diet. The statistics do not lie.

It is not surprising that the statistics reveal that only 10% of the population of the western world exercise regularly.

Nor is it surprising that less than 10% adhere to a healthy diet.

People in general are dysfunctional in regards to their own health and the health of their children.

Don't expect the medical world to do anything about this because that is how they make their living, treating unhealthy people.

The government will just occasionally comment on exercise and healthy living.

It is easier to just accept that mankind cannot change it's appalling behavior, and move on.

Jonathan Walkerin · Mar 29, 2020

OldWiseGuy said:
Good advice. So why don't people do this?

It takes an effort, it needs forethought and discipline.

Easier to do something else.

Let’s not pretend we haven’t ever done the same on various issues.

Ricky M · Mar 29, 2020

OldWiseGuy said:
People seem to be ignorant of it, or don't think it's very important. How do we account for that?

60 years of liberal agenda dumbing down the masses.

Why aren't we educated about our health?

Wake me when it's soup.

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That's grasping after the wind

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That's grasping after the wind

Naturalist

Wake me when it's soup.

Wake me when it's soup.

Well-Known Member

Naturalist

Wake me when it's soup.

Wake me when it's soup.

That's grasping after the wind

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

That's grasping after the wind

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Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

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