# Unsupported Science Beliefs You Hold **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 19, 2023, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365 "2023-11-19T11:40:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/121 "2023-11-20T18:29:08Z")
Deleted ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/122 "2023-11-20T19:40:41Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > > [@Lumpy](#): > > > > How about plain old sugar? > > Yep, this is what I referred to in one post as “addictive flavor profiles.” It is still possible to ask _why_ are people drinking 1000 Kcal/day of sugar drinks while also acknowledging that we live in a unique time in which so many calories are readily available. Why didn’t the obesity epidemic start in the 1950s? Why do so many people today not stop eating when they’ve had sufficient calories? It is the sugar, but the answer to your questions arises from science, marketing, and greed. In the 70s and 80s, scientists figured out how to withdraw all the fat from foods. The marketers then sold that food as “fat free”, with the implication that this meant it couldn’t make you fat. Except when you withdraw fat you make food bland. So, to make it palatable, manufacturers added sugar. Sugar was flavor. Sugar is also what makes people fat. Well, specifically highly refined sugars that are quickly digested, and which lack fiber to provide satiety. You give people that, and they eat too much, and store it as fat. What caused the obesity epidemic? Tons of sugar. Why do people eat so much sugar? Because it’s in all of those foods marketed as “fat free” (or, since were past that gimmick, “gluten free” or “non GMO”) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/123 "2023-11-20T21:02:07Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Despite the evidence in their favor being sketchy at best, I will still take “Emergen-C” type vitamins (Vit-C, Vit-D, and Zinc) when there is a cold in the household or I’m feeling like I may be coming down with something (which is like 90% of the time given how often my kids get something). I’m quite comfortable with the fact they are like 99% placebo. I take a pill called Wellness Formulae, and It works for me. > [@kayaker](#): > > I’ve explained to her that it is crap. Why? It has a marked placebo effect, why ruin it? Its harmless and not expensive. > [@echoreply](#): > > First ingredient is “ **sugar free** peanut butter.” Second ingredient is “honey.” LOL! Like putting “sea salt” in a soup. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/124 "2023-11-20T21:07:51Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > What caused the obesity epidemic? Tons of sugar That is one, possibly large, contributing factor, but it definitely is not the only one. At least as of 10 years ago, the contribution of sugar to the obesity epidemic was still quite controversial. That is, scientists on both sides presenting evidence that supported or refuted the hypothesis. This wasn’t the talking heads yelling at each other news show debate, but the slow progress of science debate. None of them (except those paid for by the soda industry) were saying sugar was healthy, but there is a big difference between saying excessive sugar consumption is a factor in obesity and health problems in _this specific person_, and saying it is the sole cause of a nationwide obesity epidemic. In that 10 years since I was more familiar with the literature, the amount of soda consumed has plummeted, but the obesity epidemic continues to grow. It is completely possible people have replaced sugar from carbonated drinks with sugar in other places, though. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/125 "2023-11-21T00:03:56Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > “Some people think that in the long run terraforming Mars will include putting a giant superconducting ring in orbit around Mars to give it an artificial magnetosphere.” > > Can I still be skeptical (or even more so?) Of course. I mean it’s not technically impossible but it would make irrigating the Sahara look like a 4-H project. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/126 "2023-11-21T00:26:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Why? It has a marked placebo effect, why ruin it? Its harmless and not expensive. She’s an intelligent woman. I’m embarrassed for her. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/127 "2023-11-21T00:46:18Z")
Yeah, don’t tell her that. Even if the jeans do make her butt look fat. 😊 ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/128 "2023-11-21T00:46:53Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > In that 10 years since I was more familiar with the literature, the amount of soda consumed has plummeted, but the obesity epidemic continues to grow. As has been pointed out already, sugar is in _so many_ foods. Soda is just a drop in the bucket. > [@echoreply](#): > > It is completely possible people have replaced sugar from carbonated drinks with sugar in other places, though. Possible? For just one example, walk down the cereal aisle some time and try to find an option that has less than 10 grams of sugar per serving. Be sure to check out all of the “healthy” options. And count the total _before_ adding the milk (which adds another coke can’s worth). Virtually _anything_ sold in a box has sugar added. Even things that say “no sugar added” have sugar in them. The modern processed food diet is **loaded** with sugar. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/129 "2023-11-21T01:16:25Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Even if the jeans do make her butt look fat. 😊 There’s a tourist tchotchke shop at the beach near us. Like many such shops they do a brisk business in cute little signs with hokey sayings. My favorite says: > I just love being at the beach. > The ocean makes my butt look so much smaller. 😁  ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/130 "2023-11-21T01:39:22Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Even if the jeans do make her butt look fat. 😊 The problem we have is that the jeans make her butt look perfect, but I can’t understand paying $255 for pants. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/131 "2023-11-21T01:44:49Z")
Wow! I’m guessing ‘True Religion’ Good for her. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/132 "2023-11-21T02:34:46Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > In regards to the big bang , quantum mechanics and string theory— I wonder if the human brain has limits about what it can perceive and understand that would prevent us from ever fully understanding how the universe works. We might or might not be able to understand things like those. But there are certainly things about the Universe which we can’t understand. Most notably, our own brains. > [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Here’s one I think about but lack the science on: > > AFAIK, the earth has a molten core. This creates an electromagnetic field that keeps our atmosphere from being scoured away by solar winds. > > Here’s where my sketchy science feeds my skepticism: Mars has a much smaller molten core, and any plans to colonize it will pretty much be biodome artificial. That one’s not controversial. Mars has almost no magnetic field, and that’s probably the reason why its atmosphere is so thin, and it also exposes the surface to higher levels of some sorts of radiation, all of which means that any colonies should be underground. > [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I always thought they had subtle differences. Oh, sure, there are subtle differences. And it’s certainly possible to have an allergy or other bad reactions to some but not others. But they’re still all sugar, and for most people (without allergies or the like), they’ll all have similar effects. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/133 "2023-11-21T02:42:53Z")
Here’s another unsupported scientific belief: Billions of years ago, Mars was a fertile planet with an atmosphere and flowing water. It probably sustained simple life. Its present condition is a precursor to what earth will become when our planet also loses its atmosphere and ability to sustain life. Speaking of…I predict that our planet will eventually become inhospitable. Human behavior is rapidly accelerating this timeline. This will eventually trigger the demise of humans. We won’t ever be technologically advanced enough to be able to develop a civilization elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/134 "2023-11-21T03:29:42Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Speaking of…I predict that our planet will eventually become inhospitable. Human behavior is rapidly accelerating this timeline. This will eventually trigger the demise of humans. We won’t ever be technologically advanced enough to be able to develop a civilization elsewhere. If anthropogenic climate change continues unabated on the Representative Carbon Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) it will certainly become largely unsuitable for us, and most other unprotected macroscopic land animal and plant life, as well as corals and many oceanic life forms, but it won’t turn Earth into the uninhabitable near-vacuum of Mars (nor the massive hothouse of Venus), or even extinguish all complex life. It’s actually pretty doubtful that we can even extract and emit enough carbon dioxide to fully exercise the RCP8.5 projection, although it is possible that unknowns in feedback mechanisms could drive the Earth down that path anyway, and even lower concentrations will still likely spell the end for industrial civilization and the death by famine, heat stress, climate disasters, et cetera for billions of people and mass extinctions for millions of species. Deep ocean life and many species of fungi may thrive, however, in the newly open ecological spaces once the planet cools again. We will not colonize Mars or any other world in the solar system as a “Plan B” home, and it doesn’t seem very likely that we will be able to build sustainable solar-orbiting habitats in the foreseeable future. It seems unlikely at this point that we’ll even be able to build self-replicating systems that will carry on in our steed or spread out across the universe despite the fanciful imaginings of science fiction fans. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/135 "2023-11-21T07:28:16Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > For just one example, walk down the cereal aisle some time and try to find an option that has less than 10 grams of sugar per serving. Plain cheerios. Weetabix. Kix. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/136 "2023-11-21T07:51:52Z")
Inedible without a sweetener and milk. To most people. Seriously eat a plain Cheerios. Just one. Cardboard is what they taste like. I forego all dry cereal. It’s not worth it. I am not eating cardboard in skim milk. There are many things that I can eat that have a payoff enough that I don’t miss the sweet. And I can stay on my restrictions. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/137 "2023-11-21T08:00:09Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Virtually _anything_ sold in a box has sugar added. Even things that say “no sugar added” have sugar in them. > > The modern processed food diet is **loaded** with sugar. My wife and I went recently looking for pickled cucumbers. Pickled like in brine and vinegar, maybe some herbs and mustard seeds, a simple classic recipe. We only found one without sugar. The rest all included dextrose, maltose, corn syrup or the like. Same happened with smoked ham. Sugar is in every single processed food. And I believe the worst of all sugars is [corn syrup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_syrup). As if it made a difference… Check out the link to find out how it is made if you’re curious. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/138 "2023-11-21T08:04:08Z")
I so agree with you. Sugar is pervasive. Everywhere. I understand. It tastes good. Why not have a nice taste occasionally? But why do canned beans need _added_ sugar? A bean is a bean. You get what you get. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/139 "2023-11-21T15:50:58Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > But why do canned beans need _added_ sugar? Do you mean canned “baked beans”? Baked beans have been sweetened in the pot since the original native American recipe, apparently. > **[Baked beans | Origins and history in the Americas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baked_beans#Origins_and_history_in_the_Americas)** > > According to chef and food historian Walter Staib of Philadelphia's City Tavern, baked beans had their roots as a Native peoples dish in the Americas long before the dish became known to Western culture. In the northeast of America various Native American peoples, including the Iroquois, the Narragansett and the Penobscot, mixed beans, maple sugar, and bear fat in earthenware pots which they placed in pits called "bean holes" which were lined in hot rocks to cook slowly over a long period o Briti... ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365/140 "2023-11-21T16:07:18Z")
I believe there is a tiny homunculus in my skull who controls my mind, [like this](https://i.imgur.com/Y9GDXao.jpg). I believe there is a tiny homunculus in _your_ skull, too, but it looks more [like this.](https://i.imgur.com/mxrAfgD.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsupported-science-beliefs-you-hold/993365.md?page=8)