At the Harvard Symposium for Hard Problems in Social Science , Emily Osterpresented a very simple, elementary problem: almost all people with type-2diabetes who are overweight can be cured by losing a little bit of weight. They aremade aware of it, yet they usually gain weight a�er diagnosis (she mentioned" Atkins" among the options, so it was not just AMA low-fat.). It is so obvious thatwe know what to do yet do not carry the action because thinking can be largelyornamental. The proof of the sterility of (a significant class of) knowledgesterility of (a significant class of) knowledge was rightthere (among the obvious evidence that the population has been gaining weight inspire of technological and educational progress). Yet the others social scientistskept exalting the value of "education" in spite of this simple devastating evidence. Someone even suggested teaching more "critical thinking". This is the great suckerproblem: people who teach truly think that teaching, or, worse, preaching, cures. . Nassim Taleb
About This Quote

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. As the saying goes, “the only thing worse than falling is staying down.” There are many things that can break you down. If you have a knee injury, for example, it might be difficult to get back into that same old routine. You may resort to making excuses, or some other type of procrastination.

When someone gets injured or sick, they sometimes want to give up. This could be because they feel like there is nothing they can do about it, or for some other reason. They want to stay down and play victim.

This kind of attitude can ruin your future and can lead to depression and other problems. The problem is that when you get depressed, you often make poor decisions and don’t do things that will make you happy and healthy again.

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