Stupid lines of thinking that average people adapt

Here is a list.

- "I should take up exercise because I want to reduce weight"

If you want to reduce weight, it is better to change the diet and never choose to focus on the exercise. There is an exception to that condition. If you like exercising, then you should choose the exercise option. What the average person doesnt understand is the mental and physical effort that it takes to reduce weight with exercise without changing the diet much. Resistance or/and interval training are the two most efficient ways to reduce weight. But very few people would persist training for months. Why?!? because they dont like Resistence/Interval training, but they would like to reduce weight! and that is a mistake. The reason a person is overweight lies somewhere in something going badly with his diet not because of choosing a more passive lifestyle.

- "Reading books is good for you. You should read books."

That statement is only true in specific cases such as when you are at the academic stages of your life. In fact, books consume too much time for the gains they give you. Unless you use books to pass boring time, dont pick up that hobby... trust me I tried it. Ask yourself, why you need the book you are going to buy, and is it crucial for you to read it.. Books also cost me quite a bit to buy.Instead prefer watching documentaries or reading articles from the internet.

- "Gaming is a waste of time, you should do something more productive"

After 25 years of gaming. I can say that I dont want to give up even one year of gaming instead of doing something else. Games helped me when I felt low or very bored... of course if you have more important things in life to do than game such as work/study/social life, set gaming as the second priority.

Those were the stupid lines of thinking on my mind recently. What do you think?

Hello! My name is NewOrder1984, and these are random thoughts I have!

(mandatory image, given your name)

@R3FURBISHED: You posted that post because of my user name..lolz

@neworder1984: I only partly disagree with the gaming thing. No, gaming isn't productive, unless you're involved in the production of games. For the vast majority of people, they're simply CONSUMING.

Same thing with watching movies or listening to music. You're being productive when you channel your influences into actually making something (hopefully worthwhile, but not necessarily so). If you're just consuming the stuff and then not doing anything with it, then I think it's 100% accurate to say that you're not being productive.

Where I disagree is the idea that "not being productive" equals "a waste of time".

I read books because it distracts me from reality, same goes for video games. Both also have their benefits.

@MrGeezer: True. But you work to be able to afford your games, right?

You also want games to determine your leisure time, right?

"It's cold out today, therefore global climate change isn't real"

Weather =/= Climate

exercise to reduce weight certainly works. simple but not easy

personally i exercise because i want to be fit. the weight loss is just a side benefit.

Here's my list:

Conflating factual errors in thinking with methodical errors: The guy who thinks that to reduce weight he needs to exercise is missing factual information. His thinking is correct. And the guy who's saying his thinking is wrong does not know the difference between validity and soundness. This guy, the critic, is our 'average' guy here. The other guy's case is not sure.

Thinking books aren't an efficient method of learning: It depends on the book you're reading, gentleman. If you want to learn statistics, pick up a statistics book, not 'A Song of Ice and Fire'. If you want life tips, pick up books from people who succeeded and thought over their success, who are famous for their advice, like Warren Buffet or Charles Munger, and of course put down your Harry Potter book. Books are a tool; a tool is only as efficient as the task you put it to. No amount of hands on learning is ever going to resolve your existential issues but 20 minutes of reading Camus every day may do just that.

Conflating factual errors in thinking with methodical errors again: People who say gaming is a waste of time are simply missing the knowledge that it is not necessarily a waste of time. But the guy who blames them of being average is definitely average if he still can't discern soundness from validity.

This was bad