Comments on: How Could They Know? The Case of Healthy Gums http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/ Self-Experimentation, Scientific Method, the Shangri-La Diet, etc. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:59:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.7 by: Quotes http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-315200 Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:07:48 +0000 http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-315200 [...] The quote comes from: Seth’s blog » Blog Archive » How Could They Know? The Case of Healthy Gums Breakthrough inventions doesn't come out of an etablished industry but from the outside. __________________ I am always open for feedback on my posts. That might focused on the argument at hand or on my writing style. If your feedback would go offtopic feel free to send me a Personal Message. My posts generally don't contain medical or legal advice, if you have a problem seek the opinion of an expert I don't believe in Beliefs. Nassim Nicholas Taleb [...] […] The quote comes from: Seth’s blog » Blog Archive » How Could They Know? The Case of Healthy Gums Breakthrough inventions doesn’t come out of an etablished industry but from the outside. __________________ I am always open for feedback on my posts. That might focused on the argument at hand or on my writing style. If your feedback would go offtopic feel free to send me a Personal Message. My posts generally don’t contain medical or legal advice, if you have a problem seek the opinion of an expert I don’t believe in Beliefs. Nassim Nicholas Taleb […]

]]> by: Farmers Didn’t Invent Tractors. They Were Busy Farming. | Bookmarks http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-308471 Fri, 29 May 2009 00:09:39 +0000 http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-308471 [...] Excerpt $(function(){ $("#startbox").html("There's a cliche in innovation / entrepreneurship which says, "Scratch your own itch." That is, solve problems that you know really well. Choose markets you know really well.But a lot of innovation doesn't come from the people who know the industry the best. That's because the closer you are to how something works now, the harder it is to imagine a new and better way of doing things.In pondering why millions of dentists haven't been able to figure out that flaxseed oil helps your gums, Seth Roberts channels Jane Jacobs in this excellent observation:For a long time, Jacobs says, farming was a low-yield profession.Then crop rotation schemes, tractors, cheap fertilizer, high-yieldseeds, and dozens of other labor-saving yield-increasing inventionscame along. Farmers didn’t invent tractors. Theydidn’t invent any of the improvements. They were busy farming. Just asdentists are busy doing dentistry and dental-school professors are busystudying conventional ways of improving gum health.Jacobs also writes about the sterility of large organizations —their inability to come up with new goods and services. On the face ofit, large organizations, such as large compan"); $("#startbox").columnize({ overflow : { id : "#trashcan", height : 240, doneFunc : function(){ $("#targetbox").append($("")); $("#targetbox").append($("Read more...")); } } }); }); [...] […] Excerpt $(function(){ $(”#startbox”).html(”There’s a cliche in innovation / entrepreneurship which says, “Scratch your own itch.” That is, solve problems that you know really well. Choose markets you know really well.But a lot of innovation doesn’t come from the people who know the industry the best. That’s because the closer you are to how something works now, the harder it is to imagine a new and better way of doing things.In pondering why millions of dentists haven’t been able to figure out that flaxseed oil helps your gums, Seth Roberts channels Jane Jacobs in this excellent observation:For a long time, Jacobs says, farming was a low-yield profession.Then crop rotation schemes, tractors, cheap fertilizer, high-yieldseeds, and dozens of other labor-saving yield-increasing inventionscame along. Farmers didn’t invent tractors. Theydidn’t invent any of the improvements. They were busy farming. Just asdentists are busy doing dentistry and dental-school professors are busystudying conventional ways of improving gum health.Jacobs also writes about the sterility of large organizations —their inability to come up with new goods and services. On the face ofit, large organizations, such as large compan”); $(”#startbox”).columnize({ overflow : { id : “#trashcan”, height : 240, doneFunc : function(){ $(”#targetbox”).append($(”")); $(”#targetbox”).append($(”Read more…”)); } } }); }); […]

]]> by: seth http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-307775 Wed, 27 May 2009 16:05:55 +0000 http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-307775 wgi, thanks for your comment but I fear you are missing the point.  I agree, someone close to farming realized that farmers could benefit from tractors. Yes, farmers made small improvements in farming. Jane Jacobs's point was that the really big improvements, such as tractors, never began with farmers. To invent tractors you had to invent engines, and tires, and so on...farmers never did that. A farmer might have taken the last tiny step but couldn't have taken that step without a vast amount of invention by non-farmers. wgi, thanks for your comment but I fear you are missing the point.  I agree, someone close to farming realized that farmers could benefit from tractors. Yes, farmers made small improvements in farming. Jane Jacobs’s point was that the really big improvements, such as tractors, never began with farmers. To invent tractors you had to invent engines, and tires, and so on…farmers never did that. A farmer might have taken the last tiny step but couldn’t have taken that step without a vast amount of invention by non-farmers.

]]> by: wgl http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-307763 Wed, 27 May 2009 14:19:29 +0000 http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-307763 Sorry, but you and your reference are wrong about farmers inventing tractors. I grew up on a dryland wheat farm. Innovation was a part of daily life. Dad and Uncles were always looking for a better way to do things. A friend of Dad's, needing a bigger tractor, took the front wheels off two tractors, hooked the front of one to the reinforced hitch of the other, making a pivot point. He used the hydraulics of the front one to steer, and linked the throttles together. Friends asked him to build one for them, so he built a jig. On the farm, we were always fixing things, trying new ways. Technology was a significant part of daily life. "Busy Farming" means fixing things, making them better. I would be willing to bet that the actual inventors of tractors grew up on farms. To say "They didn’t invent any of the improvements" is just flat wrong. Sorry, but you and your reference are wrong about farmers inventing tractors. I grew up on a dryland wheat farm. Innovation was a part of daily life. Dad and Uncles were always looking for a better way to do things. A friend of Dad’s, needing a bigger tractor, took the front wheels off two tractors, hooked the front of one to the reinforced hitch of the other, making a pivot point. He used the hydraulics of the front one to steer, and linked the throttles together.

Friends asked him to build one for them, so he built a jig.

On the farm, we were always fixing things, trying new ways. Technology was a significant part of daily life.

“Busy Farming” means fixing things, making them better.

I would be willing to bet that the actual inventors of tractors grew up on farms.

To say “They didn’t invent any of the improvements” is just flat wrong.

]]> by: Aaron Blaisdell http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-299576 Wed, 06 May 2009 15:07:14 +0000 http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-299576 @Patrick Thanks for the link. I recently bought some excellent raw cheese and grassfed butter from a vendor at my local farmer's market (Culver City, CA). It's operated by a funny French guy wearing an Australian bush huntsman's hat (he looks a bit like Crocodile Dundee). The butter is the best I've ever had and it comes from New Zealand. It is so yellow (I assume due to its high vitamin content) and creamy. I sometimes place a small sample in my mouth and take great pleasure in how it slowly melts, releasing rich flavors. It's as good as any fine, soft cheese. @Patrick

Thanks for the link. I recently bought some excellent raw cheese and grassfed butter from a vendor at my local farmer’s market (Culver City, CA). It’s operated by a funny French guy wearing an Australian bush huntsman’s hat (he looks a bit like Crocodile Dundee). The butter is the best I’ve ever had and it comes from New Zealand. It is so yellow (I assume due to its high vitamin content) and creamy. I sometimes place a small sample in my mouth and take great pleasure in how it slowly melts, releasing rich flavors. It’s as good as any fine, soft cheese.

]]> by: Patrik http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-299265 Tue, 05 May 2009 17:49:35 +0000 http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-299265 @Aaron Blaisdell This is a great (albeit not inexpensive) supplier of raw cheese and grassfed butter. http://www.pastureland.coop/buy/direct I have never had better butter (alliteration was accidental) in my life. @Aaron Blaisdell

This is a great (albeit not inexpensive) supplier of raw cheese and grassfed butter.

http://www.pastureland.coop/buy/direct

I have never had better butter (alliteration was accidental) in my life.

]]> by: Aaron Blaisdell http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-299207 Tue, 05 May 2009 13:03:45 +0000 http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-299207 Eric, I had the same thought, so I stopped using mouthwash now that I've moved closer to the paleo diet. I still eat some grains, but try to avoid wheat and whole grains if they haven't been sprouted or fermented. I also eat chocolate and ice cream a little bit and drink coffee every day, and wine or beer with my dinner. But I try to end my lunch and dinner with raw cheese because cheese has been shown to be beneficial to the enamel. I'll see at my next dentist visit in September whether I did the right thing. Eric,

I had the same thought, so I stopped using mouthwash now that I’ve moved closer to the paleo diet. I still eat some grains, but try to avoid wheat and whole grains if they haven’t been sprouted or fermented. I also eat chocolate and ice cream a little bit and drink coffee every day, and wine or beer with my dinner. But I try to end my lunch and dinner with raw cheese because cheese has been shown to be beneficial to the enamel. I’ll see at my next dentist visit in September whether I did the right thing.

]]> by: Patrik http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-299117 Tue, 05 May 2009 06:59:49 +0000 http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-299117 My bet is on omega-3. Or simply fat in general. I too had a Tyler Cowen-esque experience after eating Paleo/Hyperlipid. Many others in the Paleo community report the same. My "fermented food" consumption has stayed the same pre-Paleo and presently - almost indistinguishable from zero. My bet is on omega-3. Or simply fat in general.

I too had a Tyler Cowen-esque experience after eating Paleo/Hyperlipid. Many others in the Paleo community report the same. My “fermented food” consumption has stayed the same pre-Paleo and presently - almost indistinguishable from zero.

]]> by: seth http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-298767 Mon, 04 May 2009 17:49:21 +0000 http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-298767 Eric, I think my gums were red due to immune system overreaction. Because of too little bacteria everywhere in my body, not just my mouth. Levinson, the fermented food didn't replace anything except the use of spices. Eating 300 calories of fermented food probably made me eat 300 calories less overall, but no foods were eliminated, I just ate less of everything else. Eric, I think my gums were red due to immune system overreaction. Because of too little bacteria everywhere in my body, not just my mouth.

Levinson, the fermented food didn’t replace anything except the use of spices. Eating 300 calories of fermented food probably made me eat 300 calories less overall, but no foods were eliminated, I just ate less of everything else.

]]> by: Chris http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-298574 Sun, 03 May 2009 21:14:35 +0000 http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2009/05/02/how-could-they-know-the-case-of-healthy-gums/#comment-298574 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19405829?dopt=Abstract This is a study of gum health while on a stone age diet. As far as I can tell from the abstract it looks like there were more bacteria in the mouth but the gums got healthier. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19405829?dopt=Abstract

This is a study of gum health while on a stone age diet. As far as I can tell from the abstract it looks like there were more bacteria in the mouth but the gums got healthier.

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