Day 2,534 —Why is it Good to be Stubborn? — (with Blue Stairs and a Red Flower)

Kind of forgetting that I should be more sore today, I was happy to go out with only thinking I would do at least ten. I listened to this podcast that had keto expert Dr. Paul Saladino face off with Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I wanted to listen to someone claiming to be a scientist provide an argument for why meat is good for you. It was a baffling interview to say the least. It was crazy to hear Dr. Saladino keep claiming that Dr. Fuhrman was being rude as he consistently interrupted him yelling “false,” and “that’s not true” as Dr. Fuhrman tried to respond to the plethora of dubious claims that Dr. Saladino continued to make. 

         I got what I wanted. The pro meat argument is that pretty much all nutritionists are inherently biased, which is why Dr. Saladion knows that all of their methodology is inherently wrong and can be thrown out while he relies on a handful of short-term studies involving small populations to promote his claim. He would consistently make ludicrous claims as if they were universal truths as he accused Dr. Fuhrman of being dishonest or inaccurate in his points, e.g., Dr. Saladion made the claim that humans should not be considered primates. These were the kind of points that he would ferociously make throughout the discussion. Dr. Saladion seemed to think he was just dunking on Dr. Fuhrman; it made me reflect, where have I heard these types of arguments before?  

         I had to think back to the creationist or bible literalist that I was exposed to at a young age. Even at that time, I would know that the scientist / atheist made the better argument, but I was filling in the details for my side. I wanted to believe that my religion was true, so I would just think that I somehow knew my religion and science better than the expert on my side.

         It is just about what you were taught to believe at a young age. If you were brought up believing to value meat, dairy, and religion, you would either have to be a strongly motivated individual to be able to objectively do research or face some kind of huge trauma in your life in order to admit you need to change. It is always easier to stay the same when it comes to diet, religion, and political parties for that matter. I am always more interested in hearing from someone who realized they were wrong, than someone who has always known they were right.

         Why do we think it is good to be stubborn, again?