Author: smartistone

A lot people are amazed or impressed by Richard Hanania’s apparent overnight success, and with minimal promotion by the media. Richard Hanania in specific has a rare and idiosyncratic set of views, as do many public intellectuals. People who trust Richard Hanania more than Generic Dem are quite common and are overwhelmingly more likely to… Continue reading Explaining Richard Hanania’s sudden success

I define bullshit as that which does not replicate when put to the ultimate test, that being reality or practice. This can be advice, a scientific claim, whatever…This is especially prevalent in the wellness industry, be it dieting advice or fitness advice. Someone will make a claim that a certain diet or macro is optimal… Continue reading On Bullshit and Dieting Advice

I saw this going viral: Harvard says tuition will be free for families making $200K or less. According to Harvard’s website, the average annual tuition for an undergraduate student is $56,550. But with the addition of housing, food, health services and other student services, the annual cost of attending Harvard is $82,866, according to the… Continue reading Harvard offers free tuition for families making $200K or less: My thoughts

Over the past few months, the legendary investor Warren Buffett has been showered with adulation by the media for raising cash in 2024, having seemingly anticipated the downturn of 2025. Note: We’re talking Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway, not Buffett himself, although these are often used interchangeably. From Business Insider, The internet is in awe of… Continue reading Debunking the Media Hype over Warren Buffett’s Cash Pile and Market Timing

Similar to physique or strength inflation, where anything less than shredded abs or 600lbs deadlifts are seen are ‘mid’ or average, a similar trend, I think, is observed with intellect, such as claims of Elon Musk being dull, unread, or not sounding that smart. Certain pundits have unrealistic or inflated expectations of what is expected… Continue reading Intellectual Inflation

I saw this going viral, from Less Wrong: Elon Musk May Be Transitioning to Bipolar Type I: In 2023, Gwern published an excellent analysis suggesting Elon Musk exhibits behavioral patterns consistent with bipolar II disorder. The evidence was compelling: cycles of intense productivity followed by periods of withdrawal, risk-taking behavior (like crashing an uninsured McLaren),… Continue reading Stop trying to diagnose Elon Musk over the internet

From Richard Hanania, Liberals Only Censor. Musk Seeks to Lobotomize. In theory or in an ideal world, everyone would aim for the truth or only defer to ‘trustworthy sources’ (whatever those are). But such a world has probably never existed even before the advent of social media, and certainty doesn’t in modern America. The author’s… Continue reading Elon Musk, and the decline of the credibility of experts and expertise

A couple months ago I saw this exchange between Kevin D. Hall, Ph.D., who according to Google is a “…tenured Senior Investigator at the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK),” who discounts the possibility of obese people having abnormally slow metabolisms to account for their obesity and inability to lose weight:… Continue reading “That study does not meant what you think it does” the problem with science and science reporting

Before the rise of social media—and especially pre-Covid—the opportunities to capitalize from one’s attractiveness or athleticism were mostly limited to modeling, acting–or for the most gifted–professional sports. However, the emergence of the ‘fitness influencer category’, combined with the growing perception of being overweight as low status in a visually-driven online world, has created an entire… Continue reading Metabolism , fitness influencers, and looking good into adulthood

For reason that elude me, health/fitness-twitter has carved out an exception for sumo wrestlers in so far as obesity is concerned. I disagree; you cannot criticize obesity and create an exception for sumo wresters. Sumo wrestling is the only sport I watch. I consider it the most unique sport in the world. It is exists… Continue reading Sumo wrestler myths–enough with the hype about the sport