Alex Edmonds

We often think that protein is good.

We learn in school this builds muscles and repairs you.

We also think that fat is bad.

It's cool that way because it makes you fat.

But what about carbohydrates?

We might not have a pre-existing view on that.

But Robert Atkins, he went viral because of his Atkins diet, which gave the black and white conclusions that more carbs are always bad.

He had a diet saying, let's avoid all carbs.

not just simple carbs and saying that complex carbs are fine.

He said avoid all carbs.

That played into black and white thinking.

That latched on.

It went viral because it was so simple.

But notice that if he had had completely the opposite conclusion, if he had said have a diet to eat as many carbs as possible, he might have equally gone viral because that also plays into black and white thinking.

We think something is either always good or always bad.

We're not predisposed to a particular direction.

You might think so, and many of your listeners might think, why do these biases apply to me?

I'm a sensible, rational person.

Can't I use my knowledge to overcome these biases?

Unfortunately, scientific evidence finds it's the opposite, that more knowledgeable and more sophisticated people are more susceptible to these biases.