Invalidating Expertise

Do nutritionists know what they’re talking about? Actually, do any sensationalist experts know what they’re talking about? I don’t want to seem like some sort of philistine or something, but I’m seriously bothered by people who want me to undergo gigantic lifestyle changes because they think it would be good for me. This is especially in reference to environmentalists who think I should never use plastic again or use light bulbs that don't work with dimmers and drive me insane with their blinding light.

Back in high school, I used to carry this huge bottle of water. It held a liter and a half of the crucial element of life. It had it’s own bag and shoulder strap. People noted it all the time. I’d go through the whole day drinking that bottle of water. I also went to the restroom maybe ten times a day.

One day, I took a bunch of fruit from the refrigerator and some orange juice and made myself a smoothie. Not only did I cut my finger on the blades in the blender when washing it out, but I was in the bathroom for a lot of the day because the fiber worked rather quickly, effectively, and persistently.

The thing is, how am I supposed to get any work done if I’m spending all day eating in accordance to the food pyramid (either of old or new) and then dealing with my body’s reactions to all that? Or what about spending all day running or exercising or meditating or reading or whatever.

It seems we’re getting far too much advice from too many sources about what we need to do with our lives. People are getting too bogged down with experts and throttled with advice from so many sources. If it isn’t self-help books, it’s all the different magazines and lists the rest of the internet.

And let us not forget what else gives us access to the experts when on the go. It’s hard not to feel that we’re constantly surrounded and influenced by others. It is most certainly an information overload that our society has produced, but the thing is, no one knows any better.

I certainly can’t process all that dairy. I have too much writing to do to keep eating fruit. There’s more to life than pissing away those 64 ounces of water I was recommended to drink everyday. But the most startling of things is when these realizations are wrong. When the Food Pyramid of 1992 isn’t the same as the one of 2007 or when there isn’t then is then isn’t global warming, we begin to wonder what’s the basis of our knowledge.

I went to the dentist yesterday and had to sign a whole bunch of forms before my checkup. I had to go through all the papers that essentially said, “If we screw up, you can’t sue us.” The clincher for all this was the “dentistry is not an exact science” line. Now, when you go to the dentist, don’t you feel pretty sure of what’s going on? I would like to think I would. While I don’t particularly enjoy the scraping and feeling going on in my mouth, I feel somewhat reassured that this is good for me and that these people are professionals. You go to school for it. You get training. But seeing that I have to sign paperwork that says, “this isn’t an exact science” only goes to affirm what I’ve been saying all along, does anyone really know what s/he is talking about?

So I’m going to try to drink more water, but not overdo it. I should cut back on the sweets, but not follow some diagram. I should exercise more. I’ll keep turning lights off but I’m still staying with my beloved incandescent bulbs. You have to sort of pray that all you’re doing is working out and take things one day at a time, because who really knows what s/he’s talking about to give advice anyway?