Of Masks and Men, IV

Now we’ve established that people often act on the basis of impression rather than fact—but surely, Shirley, you say, people aren’t so foolish as to argue for their impressions after the facts are proven to be otherwise?

That depends.  Sometimes the facts themselves aren’t so clear.  There’s not a whole lot of disagreement (that I know of) about how to measure vitamin C.  There is, however, general disagreement in the nutrition community about other things—for example, whether fat or sugar is more implicated in heart disease, and whether alcohol calories actually “count” the way regular calories do.  In the science of exercise and weight loss you can find people arguing about whether weight lifting or aerobics are better ways to lose weight, and whether losing and gaining weight is a matter of calories in, calories out, or whether the deck is stacked in favor of stasis.  I have opinions about all of those debates, informed by reading of expert opinions; but the thing is—there are experts with different opinions.

Then we can start arguing about whether my experts or the opposing side’s experts have more respectable backgrounds and degrees.  The anti-fat expert are funded by X-entity?  Who could believe him?!  The anti-sugar expert got expelled from a conference?  Why would anyone listen to her?!

You can almost always find dirt about someone, and given enough time the opposition generally will.  Yes, even when it’s about something as trivial as what kind of life-stuff we decide to chew.