Saturday 7

Published: Sat, 04/09/22

Hey, good morning!

Here is your Saturday 7 weekly roundup:

🤨 Who should be skeptical:

No one is immune to cognitive biases that lead to false conclusions and bad decision making. Because of this human fallibility medicine developed an approach to use "the conscientious, explicit, and judicious best evidence in making decisions," which is known as evidence-based medicine (EBM).

The problem is EBM is an illusion.

To work you'd have to have reliable (unbiased, transparent) data. We don't. The pharmaceutical industry sponsors most clinical trials. They suppress negative trial results, fail to report adverse events, and don't share raw data.

The best we can do is apply a healthy dose of skepticism to research and weigh the strengths of various kinds of evidence.

PROOF Meat-based Diets are Best.

The authors of this paper do propose reforms that could improve the evidence of evidence-based medicine:

Separation of regulators and drug company funding
Pharmaceutical company tax to facilitate public funding of independent trials
Open, transparent trial data

🥩 Why I talk about meat:

I'm occasionally asked, "Kevin, why do you talk about meat so much?!"

Last week's quote gets to the heart of the reason:

A healthy person has a multitude of hopes and dreams. A sick person, one.

If we make 2 assumptions...

That this quote is (directionally) valid
Meat = Health (and the modern diet is a primary driver of sickness)

...if these are true, to me, it's hard to think about what could be more important to discuss. Of course, there are an infinite number of important things, but if health is the foundation upon which hopes and dreams are built, and modern ultraprocessed food inventions are cracking that foundation, advocating for the food that can solidify that foundation seems a worthy use of life's most precious resources, time and energy.

🪨 How to move a boulder:

Here are 10 pictures that show the secrets to moving boulders.

My edited notes on moving boulders:

Is it really a boulder? Might it actually be a pebble?
Small pushes, large distances.
Use your time and energy to move it, not to think about moving it.

👀 What to focus on (and how to do it):

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs both said focus was the "secret" to their success.

But how do you figure out where to put your energy? And how do you channel it consistently?

James Clear suggests trying different things until you find what comes easy.

I agree with the "try different things" but disagree with the "easy." Instead, I would posit to try different things until you find meaning and purpose behind your actions. Few things have come easy for me. Rather, because something was important, I was willing to be bad, to struggle, to push through problems. "Easy" is like talent, a 10 second head start on a marathon. The "why" behind the race is what keeps the legs moving during mile 26.

🧠 What quote I've been thinking about:

"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you."

– Anne Lamott

💱 How to maintain a democracy:

This post opened my eyes to just how important "The Freedom to Transact" is in a democracy. It's worth a read.

But if you want the tl;dr:

✅ Financial systems underpin everything (i.e. freedom of speech)

✅ Weaponizing the financial system is a dangerous precedent

✅ We must preserve non-custodial wallets at all costs

🚗 How to navigate the US:

I learned more about US highways in this picture than I've learned in the last 20 years of driving them.

As always, it's an absolute pleasure and an honor getting to spend some time with you, hope you have a great weekend!

Kevin

About the Saturday 7

A Saturday morning roundup on health and wealth, art and science, creativity and innovation, laughs and life by Kevin Stock.

Dr. Kevin Stock

Founder I CEO

Meat Health, LLC

Scriptis LLC

NED LLC

(314) 207-3216