tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post8504844065072971971..comments2023-05-17T08:14:10.789-07:00Comments on Men, Women, and Society: Paleo, Freedom Porn, and Tim FerrissAaron Sleazyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-90405955108173472552013-10-06T07:29:25.108-07:002013-10-06T07:29:25.108-07:00Great post, Aaron. It deserves to be widely read, ...Great post, Aaron. It deserves to be widely read, considering how many people seem to have fallen for Tim Ferriss's scam. I saw there was a video of him on youtube with Neil Strauss. I didn't bother watching it, but I certainly think these two guys belong together: both are scam artists and dream mongers.<br /><br />I do understand why many people would initially be interested in what they have to say: after all, they claim to teach radical self-improvement - including "game" and "accelerated learning", respectively. Wouldn't it be amazing if there were a fast track to excellence in every field that matters to you, whether it be seduction, bodybuilding, chess or martial arts? The problem is that many people also persist in not realising that these guys fail to deliver on what they promise. Ferriss has a talk on "how you can master any skill by deconstructing it" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSq9uGs_z0E). One "achievement" he mentions is how he managed to add more than 50 kgs to his maximum deadlift in just a few months, simply by using a different, very special technique. His secret? He wouldn't do full reps but would only use a very limited range of motion. Amazing! I'm quite confident myself that I can promptly add several dozen kgs to my maximum bench press by limiting my range of motion to half a millimetre, or that I can beat Kasparov at chess if I can get him sufficiently drunk before the match (while staying sober myself). This "achievement" fits really well with Ferriss's "winning" a kickboxing title by competing against much smaller guys than him and systematically pushing them out of the ring.<br /><br />I'm shocked by how much cash guys like Strauss and Ferriss have apparently managed to make from human gullibility, using the seductive appeal of pipe dreams such as "no matter who you are, you can learn how to pull supermodels left and right/ how to excel at any skill within a short amount of time".Rebel Lovehttp://love4mavericks.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-58376978033846393722013-08-05T15:54:18.408-07:002013-08-05T15:54:18.408-07:00Oh boy, where do I start with you?
1) If I call a...Oh boy, where do I start with you?<br /><br />1) If I call a book "How to get in shape in five minutes a day", and then describe a regimen that takes several hours instead, would I be a liar or would you let me get off the hook if I said, "Geez, did you really think I was serious?"<br /><br />2) Have fun making money off AdSense.<br /><br />3) Do you actually run your own business or have ever earned your own money --- do you just talk out of your ass?<br /><br />4) You don't start out studying neuroscience. If this was indeed the path he initially took, then he realized in one of his biology, chemistry, calculus, or computer science classes that, holy shit, this neuroscience stuff is hard work --- and switched to something that was more commensurate with his goals and ambitions.<br /><br />5) I don't know how rich his parents are, but the facts I mention certainly lead to that conclusion. Maybe you should visit one of those enclaves of the rich, come back, and tell me how likely it is that a regular family is living there.<br /><br />6) Don't know much about the US school system? No problem, look it up on the Internet.<br /><br />7) I'm quite certain that Tim Ferriss has a narcissist streak which is reason enough for him to go on a scamming spree.<br /><br />8) What exactly did you "put into practice" and how exactly did it work?<br /><br />9) The arithmetic is obviously a back-of-the envelope calculation and they are based on month, which I clearly indicated in the text. Why don't you start by paying close attention to what I write before getting all worked up because I criticized your idol? The point is the income isn't sufficient to generate much income. Maybe read the original source again, and think about the numbers a little bit. Certainly it's the case that "we see" that Ferriss' numbers can't be right, and that you can't read. Here's another quote from that source:<br /><br />====<br />At this point in our discussion, I asked if it were possible if Ferriss could have generated $40k per month in sales if that were mostly from retailers buying his product in bulk. This was Kamakiri's response:<br /><br />The idea of buying in bulk from the site doesn't work because it never had that option. Besides, it is harder than hell to get retail space. An example of this is Mana Potions. Those guys do something near BQ by selling an energy drink for gamers. They have a serious team of salesmen, campaign girls, convention booths, and even a treadmill hooked up to WoW with timed runs from point to point across Azeroth (sp?). They have a tough time getting into stores, and the market for those products is tiny. Compare that to the supplement market (8,500 products on bodybuilding.com alone), and you can imagine the sales force that he would have to compete against. Retail profits are also nearly non-existent. You are looking at a few dollars in margin as opposed to the $60 or so he makes from the site.<br />====<br /><br />10) He obviously has connections, which he used to get publicity for his book.<br /><br />11) Sure, his "friends" all happened to leave reviews at the exact same time, and the same happened in irregular intervals. Are you interested in buying a bridge?<br /><br />12) If you didn't see the criticism in my article, then I think you have to seriously work on your reading comprehension skills.Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-18477694851164739712013-07-31T10:21:39.615-07:002013-07-31T10:21:39.615-07:00I'd like to add a few things about Tim Ferriss...I'd like to add a few things about Tim Ferriss:<br /><br />He just called it the 4-Hour-Workweek, because the title would sound more interesting to most people (he was testing that before with Google AdWords). So it was a marketing "trick" if you want to call it like that.<br /><br />"What Ferriss doesn't take into account is that Google AdSense is rather expensive, and given abysmally low conversion rates, you'd probably end up spending several hundred dollars on online ads before selling one item that brings in only a fraction of the cost of selling it. This is hardly a sustainable business."<br /><br />I think you meant "AdWords", not "AdSense". What I've heard is that there are a lot of people who make profits from using AdWords (especially once they figure out how to use it efficiently).<br /><br />However, the book is definitely not only about building a business. As I see it, it's about getting the most out of your time and especially when making money it's obviously a big advantage if you have your own company. The reason is that you don't have a fixed schedule or have to "work" about 40 hours a week, no matter if there's something to do for you or not. You also cannot just outsource tasks when you have a job.<br /><br />Another thing you criticize is his school background and his degree in "East Asian Studies". As far as I know, he started studying Neuroscience and changed to East Asian Studies later. <br />I don't know if his parents really are as rich as you assume. Anyway, I don't have a big idea of the school system in the USA. So I can't argue against that. If his degree and the schools that he visited indicate that he's coming from a rich family, why not. He even seems to know a few billionaires.<br />I'm still not fully convinced that his parents have so much money. If they were so rich and he's so lazy what would be the motivation for him to publish all those books and writing his blog? Maybe becoming famous?<br /><br /><br />However, I don't care that much about Tim Ferriss' parents, I bought the book for its content. For me, the content makes sense and the parts of it that I tried to put into practice, worked.<br /><br /><br />The only thing that I didn't get from your post is the calculation from the website that you cited:<br /><br />120.000 purchases / 8500 products = 14 sales for BrainQuicken (?)<br /><br />This means to me that a product from the site makes an average of 14 sales. But that doesn't automatically mean that BrainQuicken was making 14 sales. It might have also made 1000 sales or more. And what about the time? Is it 14 sales per month, per day or all time?<br /><br />So we see the numbers can't be right (I still don't get it) and he's so successful now selling millions of his books only because his parents have money.<br /><br /><br />Then there's the thing with the mass of reviews on Amazon. Tim Ferriss said he was sending out a lot of copies to "friends" (could also mean people who follow his blog) before the book officially came out. Is this also cheating to you?<br /><br /><br />What I miss in your post is criticism on the content of his books. You only mentioned things like "frensh T-Shirts are a bad example", "his parents are rich, that's why he's so successful", "his book just sounds too good to be true". Anyway, why is it a bad idea to sell frensh T-Shirts?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-63690331315267304112013-02-22T08:17:14.576-08:002013-02-22T08:17:14.576-08:00There are many versions of Paleo floating around. ...There are many versions of Paleo floating around. The ones I am familiar with recommend to dramatically cut the carbs. Fashionable diets are almost by definitions fads.<br /><br />That meat is expensive is certainly not an argument against the validity of any diet, but it's an argument against its feasibility. Maybe you are in a position to by the best meat every day, but imagine someone came out with a Russian caviar diet... For a great many people, organic meat every day is simply not a realistic option.Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-59985815627744472072013-02-17T10:15:46.462-08:002013-02-17T10:15:46.462-08:00Alek, there is science to suggest that eating proc...Alek, there is science to suggest that eating processed foods/junk food and sweets is linked to obesity. How could there not be? There is also evidence to suggest eating real foods increases satiety and is less likely to lead to obesity. <br /><br />Even if there wasn't, your anecdotal experience does not mean anything and does not make Aaron's theory false. Normally you are spot on but when it comes to nutrition you may have let your own experiences lead to forget how science works. <br /><br />There could have been many factors behind how you were gaining or losing weight at that period of your life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-80882868205634126252013-02-17T10:06:31.530-08:002013-02-17T10:06:31.530-08:00Aaron, I greatly respect all of your debunking of ...Aaron, I greatly respect all of your debunking of the seduction community, but you've labelled the paleo diet as a fad without doing what you say you always do:<br /><br />"However, my arguments are not based on authority but on fact. I show you why X is nonsense instead of claiming that X is nonsense because I say so. This is not even a subtle difference."<br /><br />And you did this how? By saying low carb is bunk? That's correct but Paleo is not equivalent to low carb, since it contains food items which contain plenty of carbohydrate. And second reason, that meat is expensive, is not an argument against the validity of any diet. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-30317768764067915602012-03-13T17:26:49.054-07:002012-03-13T17:26:49.054-07:00Another great comment from you!
I'll re-post ...Another great comment from you!<br /><br />I'll re-post it on the front page on my blog, since you make an excellent point on "being cool". Your statement that the greats of the past were all iconoclast is very true. I think a defining element of those people is that they very early realize that others are actually wrong. Instead of caving in, they follow their idealism, despite the disadvantages that brings. (Sometimes I flatter myself by saying to myself that I am part of that tradition.)Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-14926897874626883062012-03-11T13:34:57.612-07:002012-03-11T13:34:57.612-07:00Anonymous,
I don't quite see how this comment...Anonymous,<br /><br />I don't quite see how this comment would change anything.Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-41173175240585787652012-03-04T12:03:32.729-08:002012-03-04T12:03:32.729-08:00Why didn't you mention his first comments rega...Why didn't you mention his first comments regarding the graphic:<br /><br />Despite the slightly too wild headline this is a nice new infographic about carbs, insulin and obesity. It’s simplified of course – it focuses only on the peripheral effects of insulin: growing fat cells.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-90973544577123592672012-03-04T05:41:06.145-08:002012-03-04T05:41:06.145-08:00Thanks for this link! I've skimmed it, and it ...Thanks for this link! I've skimmed it, and it looks very interesting. These days, I've got an awful lot on my plate, but I hope to cover some of the aspects in a blog article.Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-61465016096357951342012-02-29T15:06:29.201-08:002012-02-29T15:06:29.201-08:00Aaron, I am with you. I can't stand these huma...Aaron, I am with you. I can't stand these human exploiters like Timothy Ferriss, Neil Strauss, Robb Wolf, Mark Sisson, PUA community, crapaleo/crossfit community, Fight Club quoting, pseudo-rebel, pseudo-intellectual idiots. A bunch of blind morons who desperately want to belong to some "modern man's man" cult. It's weak and pathetic and I'm tired of it. <br /><br />It's also ironic that being "cool" and "charismatic" usually means exactly the opposite of what most people are already doing when they are looking for answers on forums or reading too many self-help books. To be cool/charismatic (which are both kind of stupid concepts anyway when you understand the deeper meaning they point towards) means not really giving a fuck whether you are defined cool or charismatic. Not even giving a fuck whether you give a fuck or not. It also means not needing to be either a leader or a follower of any kind. It's a huge thing to grasp. And to let go of all the bullshit and go one's own path alone seems to be an impenetrable obstacle for most men. <br /><br />It's probably always been this way. And always will be. Maybe not. Maybe we could have a society of geniuses one day given the right environment. <br /><br />Nevertheless, it seems that most great artists, scientists, philosphers we're iconoclasts. At least in their given field. They were also beyond movements or dogmas. Most of them died unknown and mad. The legends and icons became only after death e.g. Einstein pins.Skepticnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-61549692458787928542012-02-29T14:32:33.811-08:002012-02-29T14:32:33.811-08:00See this Aaron:
The relation between looks, statu...See this Aaron:<br /><a href="http://www.seductionmyth.com/looks-and-cash/#comment-2441" rel="nofollow"> The relation between looks, status and attraction</a>Alek Novyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00727239708216696902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-72224018861628317312012-02-28T01:13:41.433-08:002012-02-28T01:13:41.433-08:00I thought so. :)I thought so. :)Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-72331275711940993402012-02-28T01:08:36.948-08:002012-02-28T01:08:36.948-08:00One more:
"But don't get distracted. Bas...One more:<br /><br />"But don't get distracted. Basic, sensible dietary advice, that we all know - be honest - still stands. It's the unjustified, self-serving and unnecessary overcomplication of this basic sensible dietary advice that is, to my mind, one of the greatest crimes of the nutritionist movement. I don't think it's excessive to talk about consumers paralysed with confusion in supermarkets."<br /><br />Again, the parallels to PUA are obvious.Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-15402574593087768702012-02-28T01:07:26.538-08:002012-02-28T01:07:26.538-08:00Another quote:
"These new nutritionists have...Another quote:<br /><br />"These new nutritionists have a major commercial problem with evidence. There's nothing very professional or proprietary about "eat your greens", so they have had to push things further: but unfortunately for the nutritionists, the technical, confusing, overcomplicated, tinkering interventions that they promote are very frequently not supported by convincing evidence."<br /><br />It wouldn't take much time to rewrite this paragraph to apply to PUAs.Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-39184323596966800662012-02-28T01:06:30.220-08:002012-02-28T01:06:30.220-08:00Quote:
"But nutritionists don't stop the...Quote:<br /><br />"But nutritionists don't stop there, because they can't: they have to manufacture complication, to justify the existence of their profession. And what an extraordinary new profession it is. They've appeared out of nowhere, with a strong new-age bent, but dressing themselves up in the cloak of scientific authority. Because there is, of course, a genuine body of research about nutrition and health, to which these new "nutritionists" are spectacularly unreliable witnesses. You don't get sober professors from the Medical Research Council's Human Nutrition Research Unit on telly talking about the evidence on food and health; you get the media nutritionists. It's like the difference between astrology and astronomy."Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-90334395526864998132012-02-28T01:02:36.523-08:002012-02-28T01:02:36.523-08:00I know you weren't criticizing me.
Thanks for...I know you weren't criticizing me.<br /><br />Thanks for pointing out some of the finer points of nutrition. I was indeed unaware of a lot of it. At least, I now know that this field is similar to the PUA fad, and full of frauds. Have you read Ben Goldacre's "Bad Science"? I'm sure you'd get a kick out of that book (or maybe you just know about all that stuff already and will just nod your head as you read along). Check out this article:<br />http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/feb/12/advertising.foodAaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-54338164319913312062012-02-27T16:04:53.716-08:002012-02-27T16:04:53.716-08:00p.s.
I know you probably already know this Aaron,...p.s.<br /><br />I know you probably already know this Aaron, but clarifying just in case. My reply wasn't a criticism of you, just the theory.<br /><br />As someone who has never been fat, you probably only have second-hand theoretical experience with these theories, so it's understandable.<br /><br />Now there are a whole bunch of studies coming out saying that the "good foods/bad foods" paradigm doesn't work. People might lose fat in the short-term, but over-time classifying foods as "good" and "bad" just leads people to over-eating.<br /><br />I wish I didn't have to learn this the hard way. I spent many years in that paradigm, I wish I could have those years back, just like the damn "community" years lol :DAlek Novyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00727239708216696902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-39554897223679715912012-02-27T16:01:27.975-08:002012-02-27T16:01:27.975-08:00I was "ultra anonymous" btw. I was just ...I was "ultra anonymous" btw. I was just making fun of the anonymous hit&runners lol.Alek Novyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00727239708216696902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-54503435821515034132012-02-27T15:27:26.747-08:002012-02-27T15:27:26.747-08:00If people skipped processed foods, and only ate ve...<i>If people skipped processed foods, and only ate very little sweets (or none at all), obesity would be fairly easy to manage. After all, if you stick to healthy food, you'll find it rather difficult to overeat. On the other hand, you can quickly eat four cupcakes (amounting to 2,000 calories or more in total).</i><br /><br />That theory is also false.<br /><br />I spent a few years where I ate zero processed foods, zero sugar, nothing but water in drinks, and I was quite fat, and kept getting fatter despite eating "100% clean".<br /><br />The theory that it's "hard to over-eat when you don't eat processed foods" is just a bullshit theory similar to many pua theories... It's a technique sold as a paradigm.<br /><br />Compared to my "fat orthorexic" days, today I eat mostly processed foods, am ripped, and I love me sweets.Alek Novyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00727239708216696902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-60838887244774569512012-02-27T02:46:52.396-08:002012-02-27T02:46:52.396-08:00Thanks for this excellent link!Thanks for this excellent link!Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-30983262248515163802012-02-27T02:43:56.349-08:002012-02-27T02:43:56.349-08:00Regarding that guy from Sweden: He has linked to t...Regarding that guy from Sweden: He has linked to this poster: http://blog.massivehealth.com/infographics/Carbs_are_killing_you/<br />...which is just absurd. Yeah, carbs are bad. But what about all the sugar and preprocessed crap people eat?<br /><br />My impression from Sweden is that people are very well educated and rational, so I'd be more than surprised if that fad got a foothold.Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-62396845560185179992012-02-27T02:39:22.180-08:002012-02-27T02:39:22.180-08:00Anonymous,
nice "ad hominem", but pleas...Anonymous,<br /><br />nice "ad hominem", but please get your facts straight. I hold an MSc from the London School of Economics. Further, due to the fact that I was given a scholarship you could deduce that I am probably rather smart. However, my arguments are not based on authority but on fact. I show you why X is nonsense instead of claiming that X is nonsense because I say so. This is not even a subtle difference.<br /><br />Further, as UltraAnonymous pointed out, "shifting the burden of proof" is nothing but a troll technique. If someone claims he's oh-so great with girls (like Vince Kelvin), but then videos show that he sucks balls, then it's not a valid defense to demand from his critics that they should produce videos of themselves.<br /><br />Thus, dear Anonymous, please let me ask you whether you are being deliberately obtuse or downright stupid.Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-2505482156664210332012-02-27T02:32:55.375-08:002012-02-27T02:32:55.375-08:00Kim Schmitz aka "Kimble Dotcom" would no...Kim Schmitz aka "Kimble Dotcom" would not quite fit the scope of this blog. There are many bullshitters and huckster, around, though. Yet, I rather limit myself to some figures in the self-help and seduction industry.<br /><br />Roosh and Sean Stephenson are high on my list.Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830949294679547966.post-22913239731053667382012-02-27T02:29:59.430-08:002012-02-27T02:29:59.430-08:00I am familiar with the Occupy Movement. It is an o...I am familiar with the Occupy Movement. It is an ongoing movement, and there were some protests in 2012 already. The mainstream media normally don't report about them, though. I have attended a couple of #Occupy events myself, and thus know first-hand how ridiculously biased media stories are. This doesn't come as a surprise once you realize that the MSM are interested in maintaining the status quo. That they represent the "fourth estate" is nothing but a PR lie.<br /><br />Austerity measures only serve to make the rich even richer. Just look at how many state assets were sold off at a fraction of their price! Economic planning is not about improving the lot of the people but to make sure that the "elites" keep living their cushy lives. Posters such as this one have never lost their relevance: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Anti-capitalism_color.jpg<br /><br />Economic booms and busts are engineered (due to credit expansion and contraction), and busts are used to transfer wealth to the elites. Just look at how the "Great Recession" in the US played out, or any other bust in history.Aaron Sleazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06704230661761052919noreply@blogger.com