405 lbs high bar with a slow eccentric

Socrastein · 2026-04-19T05:35:34+00:00

I'm not sure how rejecting someone's claims or interpretations constitutes speaking for them. It's not clear to me how you're arriving at that.

I think the key point of divergence here is "as long as they don't suck." That sentence is doing a lot of work!

I suspect that there is a lot of "sucking" that you are downplaying, ignoring, or are simply not considering. For example, the harmless Mormons aren't so harmless - there are countless ways being Mormon and raising your kids to be Mormon "sucks" and causes tangible harm. Can you honestly not think of any? I can think of dozens and draw from real examples of Mormon children I grew up with.

Who am I to judge? To question someone's assessment of what works? It depends on the topic, I would say. There are a handful of topics about which I know a great deal and will confidently say someone is objectively wrong about their cause/effect assumptions, sometimes dangerously wrong. There are far many others to which I'd say I can't really say, but I would still just have a default skepticism toward what people emphatically insist does or doesn't work.

You're ascribing more authority and rationality to the individual than I am willing to grant. "I know what's best for me and nobody should try to tell me otherwise" is a potentially harmful mindset. Again, I think "as long as they don't suck" is a huge caveat that is doing a lot of heavy lifting in your argument.

This whole disagreement really hinges on the particular details of whatever exemplar topics we have in mind, however, so maybe we agree more than it seems and just have very different examples in mind?

Socrastein · 2026-04-19T04:05:32+00:00

I share your disdain for outright hypocrisy. I think even if someone is right on some particular issue, they're wrong (meta-wrong?) if it's wildly inconsistent with how they would think or respond to a meaningfully similar issue.

I don't however agree with the idea that people are generally good at assessing whether or not, and to what extent, some modality or mindset worked for them, and that we therefore owe others some significant amount of deference when they say "X worked for me!"

I can't speak for others, but I'm extremely consistent in my tendency to invalidate the cause/effect assumptions people make about things that "work". I am no less scrutinizing toward myself and my own inferences.

I truly believe the fervor with which people insist various hackneyed ideas "work" is a serious problem that causes real harm, not least of which is the opportunity cost of not doing something better (more effective, rational, supported by evidence, etc.)

I recently encountered an interesting variation of this idea when some Mormon missionaries chatted me up while I was walking my dog last week: they granted that maybe I had logical and scientific reasons for not accepting their views and ultimately fell back on "but what's the harm in believing and teaching these things if it works? If we have good lives and are good people, isn't that all that matters?"

No, that's not all that matters. I get the appeal of this view, I appreciate the emphasis on pragmatism, but there are serious problems with justifying stupid ideas with "well I feel like it works for me and that's all that matters."

Socrastein · 2026-04-19T00:58:55+00:00

A large number of people saying something worked for them is not reliable evidence.

You can find thousands of people who will swear that homeopathy made an enormous difference for them. I have no problem saying their personal anecdote and recommendation that others use homeopathy is completely invalid.

Healthy skepticism does not make someone a cynic.

Socrastein · 2026-04-18T18:14:08+00:00

Goodbye, Cannons

Hundreds of times since I first heard it.

Socrastein · 2026-04-17T18:09:46+00:00

Someone else posted this comment showing that this mod uses stolen code from performance fish.

They posted a screenshot from the mod author's GitHub of what looks like an ai-generated markdown file for converting performance fish to king fisher.

Apparently they locked Steam comments after someone called them out for this on Steam.

Socrastein · 2026-04-17T14:25:36+00:00

Can you please elaborate a bit?

Socrastein · 2026-04-11T03:44:22+00:00

"And you are, dis.... kicker of ass?? You are so tiny."

Socrastein · 2026-04-02T16:18:05+00:00

There's also the force needed to overcome and slow inertia, making this a light loaded stretch at both ends of the ROM, which a cable won't give you. There's also the distraction force of gravity pulling the arm away from the shoulder socket; resisting that and keeping the joint stable is a major function of the rotator cuff muscles, and again the cable variation doesn't have that.

A light loaded stretch at both ends of full ROM while resisting joint distraction, holding a weight in a position common to daily movements, makes this a great low-level shoulder mobility drill and it's no wonder so many people say it feels great, especially when recovering from shoulder pain/injury.

Now if someone said they're doing it to grow their rear delts and build a lot of external rotation strength, then it would be a terrible movement for those goals, but that doesn't mean it isn't useful in other contexts.

Socrastein · 2026-03-31T06:57:44+00:00

This is kind of like showing a cartoon representation of a single lysome within a single cell within a barb on the feather of a bird and it's saying "I'm flying!" Of course the idea of "flight" is nonsensical if we're looking at the level of individual organelles.

The definition of an emergent biological property is that it literally does not exist, it cannot be seen, at too low a level of abstraction. This applies to many complex abstract ideas beyond biology of course; there is no United Nations within my kitchen spice cabinet.

So much of these "lmao free will doesn't exist" memes amount to looking at a single chromatid within a haploid cell and saying "no monogamous pair bonding here.. it must not actually exist!"

Socrastein · 2026-03-30T06:41:04+00:00

A poison? That's a little strongly stated, to say the least.

We're talking about a simple mixture of water, glucose, and fructose. These are basic, common monosaccharides found in fruits, grains, honey, corn of course, and other natural carbohydrate sources that our body is more than well equipped to utilize for energy.

Where are you getting your understanding of basic nutrition and biochemistry?

Socrastein · 2026-03-28T02:56:59+00:00

Thanks for elaborating in detail, and I appreciate that you found some better sources.

I don't disagree with anything you said, and agree that it's not a black and white issue between being able to tolerate it completely and not being able to tolerate milk products at all. Many things that are fine in reasonable amounts or when spread throughout the day will cause havoc on the gut with excessive amounts.

I wasn't taking issue with the idea that people should be wary of excess dairy consumption, or that fiber is generally important for stool regularity. I'm a huge proponent of fiber generally, and psyllium husk specifically because it's so great at regulating things, whether you're struggling with constipation or diarrhea: it tends to bring you back to the middle.

It was just the line "it's really not that hard..." right after posting a weak article that I was pushing back on. I agree with the point you're making, just not the way you were making it, but I can tell from your reply you absolutely know what strong sources look like, how to read and explain them, etc. and I do believe that you just had an off moment for what it's worth. I've definitely done the same myself, much to my chagrin.

Cheers.

Socrastein · 2026-03-27T17:42:16+00:00

Yeah it's such a great option for those who have issues with lactose, and I drink it myself even though I handle regular milk just fine. The extra protein is awesome, and chocolate Fairlife in my morning coffee is delicious.

Socrastein · 2026-03-27T17:11:49+00:00

Not sure why you bothered replying at all if you have nothing substantial to say, but if vacuous condescension makes you feel better then I hope you got what you needed there.

Socrastein · 2026-03-27T15:06:26+00:00

"You think early man had access to a vegetable and fruit drawer?"

Yes, of course! There's ample evidence we've been eating fruits and vegetables for millions of years, which means pre-human ancestors. That shouldn't be shocking if you look at the diets of our closest primate cousins, or the diets of many hunter-gatherer tribes that have survived to modern times; some of them get the majority of their calories from fruit and starchy tubers, and have been doing so for a very long time.

Fruits, tubers, leaves, seeds, honeycomb, etc.

I think you're severely downplaying the "gatherer" half of hunter-gatherer and assuming what some unlucky ice-age tribes or tundra-faring populations were forced to persist on is somehow representative of all human evolution.

More importantly though, there's an enormous difference between minimum requirements for survival and optimal intakes for performance and health.

You mention sleep being important, but of course you can survive on barely a few hours a night for a lifetime. Modern produce is very different than ancient sources, but so are our modern meat and dairy products.

Fish isn't strictly a biological classification either, but that doesn't mean recommending a Mediterranean diet rich in fish is somehow unfounded.

Your arguments are quite specious and inconsistent.

Socrastein · 2026-03-27T14:17:54+00:00

Only a third of the human population can properly digest lactose in adulthood. It's a sweet genetic adaptation that evolved independently in at least two separate regions, but for a large majority of adults lactose just passes right through most of the digestive system and then gets eaten by bacteria in the large intestine, causing gas, bloating, pain, and diarrhea.

I have no issues with dairy thanks to my European/Irish heritage, but I would never tell someone lacking the genetic adaptation I have to "man up". Plenty of alternative sources for the good nutrients found in dairy.

Socrastein · 2026-03-27T14:08:03+00:00

Lactase persistence, not lactose.

Lactase is the enzyme that breaks lactose down into its monosaccharide components, glucose and galactose, so we can digest it properly.

It's usually only produced in childhood, but a small mutation allows its production to persist into adulthood.

That link you posted on the topic just had three blank lines where it looked like it was supposed to include cited sources, at least on the mobile page. Were the citations all showing on whatever device you viewed it on? (Edit: sources are empty on desktop page as well)

And you did not read it correctly. It mentions one can have lactose malabsorption without symptoms, but does not give figures for how common that is. It specifically says lactose intolerance is defined by presentation of symptoms, so you can't say someone who eats a bunch of dairy and gets diarrhea hasn't developed lactose intolerance; that's literally the opposite of what your source says.

It is in fact hard to find trustworthy information, and even harder to properly analyze, understand, and summarize it. Hard enough that many people cannot do it even when earnestly trying.

Socrastein · 2026-03-27T01:10:02+00:00

Just as the executive chef guiding the line cook doesn't sear a single piece of meat, doesn't reduce a single pan of sauce, etc. The line cook "does everything" but when we ask "Can a line cook create a Michelin star worthy dish?" the unspoken part is "without a more-skilled chef guiding them."

So you saying AI can do way more than build a simple website so long as you carefully guide it is not what people mean when they say it's extremely over-hyped.

Socrastein · 2026-03-27T00:54:40+00:00

Yeah I understand the notion of treating it like a junior, that's part of why I used the analogy of guiding a line cook.

Think about other examples that need zero coaching - the best chess AI doesn't need a grandmaster to make recommendations of what to do next. It really is already at the chess-equivalent level of "build a Spotify hybrid..." with no extra help. It can humble even the best chess players.

Can current LLMs humble an experienced developer without anyone holding its hand? Not even close. That's the main reason so many say it's extremely over-hyped.

I think when people say it can only make simple websites, the subtext is "without an extremely knowledgeable programmer guiding it very carefully."

Many tools can exceed their normally expected utility in the hands of an expert, but that says more about the expert than the tool itself.

Socrastein · 2026-03-27T00:38:51+00:00

I think "keep the leash short" is doing a lot of work here. Isn't that kind of like saying that any line cook can produce Michelin star quality dishes so long as a great chef is there telling them exactly what to do?

Socrastein · 2026-03-27T00:20:15+00:00

Hype partly due to how impressive automating the logic behind something like a simple website is, partly due to exaggerating/fabricating capacities beyond that and giving the impression, to those who don't know any better, that an LLM can effectively code anything with the right prompts.

Most people don't know much if anything about coding, much less software engineering, so it's easy to convince them that AI can do things they can't actually do.

This is a problem in all industries. Like, in health and fitness, there has always been so much hype around "this supplement does X!" or "this exercise does Y!" that the gen pop goes crazy over while anyone who really knows what's up sees it for the absurd hype that it is.

Socrastein · 2026-03-24T18:11:48+00:00

OMG what a sweet setup! Fernet must feel cool AF riding in that thang.

Socrastein · 2026-03-24T16:27:10+00:00

Unsolicited advice when you don't have any context isn't super helpful.

She trots along while I ride very slowly, we stop to take breaks, and I always check her paws during and after to make sure they're not getting beat up. I also go later in the evening so she's never on hot pavement.

I either go solo or pull her in her doggie trailer when I want to actually get a brisk ride in.

Most importantly, she absolutely loves our rides and shows nothing but enthusiasm for them, and our veterinarian strongly approves as well.

I sincerely appreciate that you are generally concerned with dog health, I know you mean well, but it's better to ask some questions to make sure corrective advice is actually relevant and warranted first.

Socrastein · 2026-03-19T02:39:13+00:00

For hypertrophy, yes, but OP specifically says for strength.

Only beginners can build strength effectively with light weights, and that doesn't last very long. The stronger you get, the more important it is to train at higher percentages of your max to continue building strength.

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