Life Without Television

Twice recently I’ve seen two high-profile blogs write about weight loss techniques which I have seen refuted by professionals. Number one: targeted weight loss, the idea that certain exercises will remove fat from only certain parts of your body, which is just false. Number two: low-carb diets, which I thought had been shown to create long term health risks.

I hate seeing the same bad ideas being brought out again and again after they have been debunked. It reminds me of crop circles, which were revealed to be hoaxes years ago and yet continue to be talked about with awe.

At times, I’m sure these things are caused by a disagreement between experts, in this case health professionals, but also they can be caused by not being rigorous enough in our research. The idea of 8 glasses of water a day is another one. I’ve heard doctors give this advice, with no idea of where it originates.

The internet makes these problems worse. A good meme travels fast irrespective of how true it is. That’s what makes Wikipedia’s [citation needed] tag so important. But this is also a matter of personal responsibility. I hear friends criticise Wikipedia almost daily as unreliable, but the facts we find there should be easy to verify. We’re putting our intellectual eggs into one basket.

There are two sides to this and one fairly easy rule of thumb to remember: if you’re repeating someone’s idea, or if you come across a new idea, ask yourself “where does this come from?” and stop taking things on face value.

Here’s a great post from Jon Tan about how to style paragraphs.

I’ve given it a little while to sink in, but I have to say I like it.

There seems to have been a lot of negative reaction to this, which might seem a small issue, but it’s always strange when a well-established company changes some part of its branding. It reminds me of the changes Apple made to their logo, from the rainbow apple to the glossy white.

In both cases, there is something I like about the original, something comforting, perhaps nostalgic. But this is a warning signal: I never like to make decisions based on nostalgia. There is something in our minds resistant to change and it fights to keep the familiar, even when the new is better. For this reason, when you make a change to anything, you shouldn’t expect a wholly favourable reaction.

I think in a few years this new look will be firmly entrenched and seem completely natural.

Accessibility guidelines for websites are great. They give you an edge over your competition.

Remember that guidelines and rules don’t change and don’t always tell you about how things are used. If someone can’t use your site, is there a way for them to tell you? Have you watched a blind person use your site, or just run it through a screen reader?

Think of each person who visits your site as an individual and speak directly to them.

Go read Stewart Butterfield’s resignation letter on Valleywag.

OK? Now read the comments.

No real focus on the story, just he’s crazy, he’s on drugs, and above all he’s not funny.

When was the last time anyone agreed on what was funny? “It’s not funny” might be an opening sentence but by itself it’s not an argument for anything other than your own ego.

I’ve no idea what this letter is all about but that doesn’t matter to me. What I love is that this guy seems to be the kind of guy who can’t do anything the way you’re supposed to do it. Maybe that’s why he’s so successful.

You can download Firefox here. I’m just about to.