Magic Dots: Quasi-Reinforcement Helps Get Things Done

Seth Roberts17 Comments

This photo illustrates a method I have used for many years to get work done, usually writing. Every six minutes of work, I make a dot or line. One hour = 10 marks = a box (counting method from Exploratory Data Analysis). I use a stopwatch. I make a mark when I am more than halfway to the goal. If I glance at the clock and it says 4 minutes (more than halfway to 6 minutes), I make a mark. If I glance at the clock and it says 10 minutes (more than halfway to 12 minutes from 6 minutes), I make a mark. I only zero the clock when I take a break. I use one piece of paper per day.

I devised this. It is based on an effect discovered by Allen Neuringer and Shin-Ho Chung called quasi-reinforcement. Neuringer and Chung studied pigeons. They found that if you give a pigeon food every 500 times it pecks a key, it will peck the key slowly (say, 2 pecks/minute). If you give the pigeon a brief flash of light every 20 pecks — a marker that shows it is doing the right thing to get food — it will peck much faster (say, 4 pecks/minute). The flashes of light are quasi-reinforcement, said Neuringer and Chung — they have some but not all of the properties of ordinary reinforcement, such as food. By themselves, the flashes of light don’t interest the pigeon. It won’t peck a key to get them. The amazing thing about this effect is that it doubles how hard the pigeon works without raising its salary.

I noticed improvement — it was easier to write — within about 20 minutes the first time I tried this. I chose six minutes as the unit because shorter times were more distracting and longer times less effective.

I told Gary Wolf about the dots method two years ago and he’s been using it ever since. He says it is good for getting started on something he needs to write. After he gets going, he stops doing it. He uses it as an example of the value of self-tracking. I too find that after I get going on something, I need it less. If I stop, however, I drift backwards toward doing less productive stuff or nothing.

Gary asked me about this a month ago and I started doing it again (instead of percentile feedback). I noticed something I had never noticed before, which was that the system lifted my whole energy level and gave me a “can’t wait to get started” feeling in the morning. This too made it easier to get stuff done. It reminded me of some rat research I’d done. Put a rat in a Skinner box and it will explore for a while. If it doesn’t get any food, after a while (10 minutes?) it will stop exploring and curl up in the middle of the box. However, if I give the rat a pellet of food at random times (at the rate of one pellet/minute), it will keep exploring the box indefinitely. Learning psychologists have emphasized that when you reward an action, you make it more likely. The rat experiment I just described suggests a second effect: when you give reward — at least, when reward is rare — you make all actions more likely. You increase exploration, not just the rewarded response. When I was a young professor I went to a two-week neuroscience program at Dartmouth. It was all lectures. The other attendees were graduate students. I had little in common with them. There was little to do in the town, besides eat Ben & Jerry’s. The next town was 8 miles away. I couldn’t find anything I enjoyed doing. After a week, I had trouble getting out of bed, like the rat curled up in the middle of the Skinner box. A psychiatrist might have said I had major depression. I flew home and was fine.

 

 

 

Where to Buy Miso in Tokyo

Seth Roberts5 Comments

In Tokyo I went to a shop that specialized in miso. It sold about thirty varieties, several of which I liked very much. There is a choice of packaging: hard or soft. The hard packages could be used for gifts. The phone number of the shop is 03(3841)7116, which you can use to google it. It is in the Hanakawado district, between Kototoi Dori and Edo Dori, near the Senso-ji Temple and the Amuse Museum. It is open 9 am to 6 pm. Maybe closed Sunday.

Address: 2 – 8 2-chome, Taito-ku, Tokyo Hanakawado 〒 111-0033, which 0.23 km from the Asakusa Station.

Incidentally, nowadays I tend to eat miso with a poached egg. Boil 0.8 cup water, add egg, cook until poached, add the miso which has been mixed with 0.1 cup water.

DIY Medicine: Sinus Infections Caused by Wheat Gluten

Seth Roberts9 Comments

Five years ago programmer and author David Kadavy suffered from constant sinus infections. The doctors he had seen about it hadn’t helped: “They tended to test me for environmental allergies, stick a camera up my nose, and ultimately prescribe some bullshit allergy medication that didn’t work.” What did work:

One day I was reading an old book on holistic medicine. Of course, the first thing I wanted to know was how could I prevent being constantly congested. The book said that foods such as wheat, meat, and dairy often contributed to excess mucous production – and thus, sinusitis. I was miserable, and clearly willing to try anything, so I cut out all three of those things the very next day.

Within two days, the difference was incredible. My head had cleared up, I had boundless energy, and other problems – such as a patch of eczema that I had on my eyelid for years – all cleared up. . . . Through a bit of experimentation I was able to place the blame for my sinus woes (and that eczema thing) on wheat. . . . Not only did the experience have me looking at food differently, it also had me looking at medicine differently. How could I see so many GPs, allergy specialists, ENT [ear nose and throat] specialists, and dermatologists without a single one of them saying “you know, you should look at your diet?”

Yes, how could that be? And, to paraphrase Alex Tabarrok, what else are they missing?

Thanks to Melissa McEwen.

Assorted Links

Seth Roberts7 Comments

 

  • Are the Boston Red Sox malnourished? Paul Jaminet looks at the connection between poor health of the Boston Red Sox and the dietary advice they were given.
  • Cognitive benefits of chewing gum. “Chewing gum was associated with greater alertness and a more positive mood. Reaction times were quicker in the gum condition, and this effect became bigger as the task became more difficult.”
  • Dave Asprey and Quantified Self. “He claims to have jacked up his IQ by 40 points.”
  • “Why is this country called China in English?” I asked a Tsinghua student. “It was a source of china,” she said. She was more right than she could have known. The world’s oldest pottery has been found in China. (Via Melissa McEwen.) Given this head start, it’s no surprise that for a long time China had a monopoly on really hard pottery, called bone china or porcelain. It was the only source of this china.

How Low Blood Sugar is Too Low? New Evidence

Seth Roberts17 Comments

Some people avoid all carbs (that is, all bread, pasta, rice, etc.). Others advocate “safe starches”. No doubt wheat can be dangerous — witness celiac disease (associated with a genetic difference). But I have noticed clear improvements in brain function (measured by arithmetic speed or something similar) after eating something sweet, such as pudding. None of this, unfortunately, helps answer the question: how low blood sugar is too low?

A new study makes more plausible the idea that really low levels of carbs may be bad for you:

A nested case-control study data set was generated from the cohort-study data set (n = 4140 type 2 diabetic outpatients) by sampling controls from the risk sets. Cases (n = 427) were compared with an equal number of controls chosen from those members of the cohort who were at risk for the same follow-up time of the case, matched for age (±3 years), sex, body mass index (BMI) (±2 kg m(-2)), duration of diabetes (±5 years), and Charlson’s Comorbidity Score (CCS) (±1). The main predefined analysis was the comparison of cases and controls for proportion of patients with each HbA1c class (<6.5%, 6.5-7.4%, 7.5-8.4% and ≥8.5%). During a mean follow-up of 5.7 ± 3.5 years, 427 deaths were recorded. The lowest risk of death was observed in the HbA1c 6.5-7.4% category; a lower HbA1c was associated with a non-significant trend towards a higher risk. The risk associated with a low (<6.5%) HbA1c was significantly greater in patients who were insulin-treated than in the rest of the sample.

The study is saying that diabetic patients in the HbA1c 6.5-7.4% category do not improve their health when given insulin that lowers their blood sugar even more. Their health may get worse.

The Power of Blog (Fermented Foods Division)

Seth Roberts3 Comments

A few weeks ago I posted a short note about Yakult, a probiotic dairy drink popular in Asia. Yesterday, I came across someone who had read that note. He wrote about it in a post categorized as Learning Koanic Soul.

To test whether I did indeed now possess Melonhead powers, I attempted to manifest the thing I wanted most, and had been striving to attain the longest: a cure for the adverse side effects of the Accutane I’d taken 8 years ago.

Here’s a brief list of the side effects I suffered:

  • chronic diarrhea
  • chronic fatigue
  • inability to eat almost every food, including pills
  • insomnia
  • additional symptoms, increasing exponentially when I eat forbidden foods or miss sleep

Over the last 8 years I’d painstakingly developed a coping regimen that worked in theory, as long as I did it perfectly. But it was so strict that holding down a job or traveling were almost impractical. And any error meant days if not weeks of down time. I rarely achieved better than than 50% functionality. And my diet was so limited that I ate only one meal continuously – lean steamed meat with rice, scallops and shrimp.

All attempts at a cure had failed, and not only failed, but proven that I couldn’t even digest the pills that might make me better. Instead, the difficulty of digesting the pills induced a failure cascade, a reinforcing feedback loop of insomnia, stress, fatigue and diarrhea. After years of fighting this illness, I had learned a great deal but was running out of things to try.

So, for my first manifestation attempt, I decided to demand an INSTANT cure.

Not a regimen for coping with symptoms… Actual, immediate, damage reversal. . . .The experiment began as I wrapped up a Skype conversation with a Melonhead. He’d just finished describing his “powers” to me. I got the idea for the experiment, and told him what I’d try to manifest. Immediately I experienced a boost in energy – I’d been feeling sick. I was shocked – it appeared to be already working.

I finished talking to the Melonhead, and flicked open my RSS reader while deciding what to do next. Up popped an article by Seth Roberts mentioning the GI healing properties of Yakult, a fermented yoghurt drink common in Asia. Accompanied with link to scientific paper and news report.

This startled me, because I’d been planning to try fermenting my own yoghurt next, although I had low expectations for success. I was planning on getting a yoghurt making machine, yada yada. I began reading with interest. Could this be the sign I’d requested?

As I finished reading, my girlfriend arrived home. I told her I wanted to buy some of this “Yakult” stuff tomorrow, figuring the grocery stores were closed tonight. She replied that she had some in the refrigerator.

This got my attention. I’d requested an instant cure… and the cure, if it was one, had been sitting IN MY REFRIGERATOR before I requested it.

The main problem was the massive sugar content of Yakult. I knew that I had sugar malabsorption issues – I can’t eat fruit. There was an excellent chance that if I tried the Yakult, I would become sick for at least 3 days, and endure excruciating pain. For the record, torture by several consecutive days of gut cramps is one of the few things I am afraid of, being a subset of torture in general. Nevertheless, I elected to drink two (disgustingly sweet) Yakult bottles that night.

Over the next couple of days I continued to ramp up my Yakult dosage. My body rebelled some at the radical change, but it also showed signs of improvement. The expected disaster failed to materialize.

Day two was the worst. I felt as if I might be becoming genuinely sick. Given the amount I’d drunk, this meant a solid three days of agony were kicking off. That night I endured some physical pain, but I was also strangely energized, so that I had the mental reserves to face it out. Normally the illness saps all capacity for resistance.

That night I received a “message” (or had a thought, whichever you prefer) that “it would take three days.” Sure enough, on day 3 I knew was better, significantly so, instead of worse. There could be no further doubt that it was working. For me, something had finally changed.

Note that I would expect a full gut healing to take place over 3-6 months. It’s not simply a matter of fixing diet or finding the right pill, but 1. rebuilding bacterial colonies and 2. regrowing and healing intestinal lining damaged or eaten away by inflammation and acidity. While these results are not instant, they are screamingly fast in GI terms.

Impressed by this initial success, over the next few days I began to let manifestation guide my behavior intuitively, rather than using logic to determine my actions. An image of a key supplement appeared in my head – I went and bought it at the precise store I remembered seeing it. When I arrived I discovered it was on sale: 2 for 1.

At the grocery store, I simply wandered, letting manifestation dictate my purchases. I grew disgusted with the excessive sweetness of Yakult: lo and behold, I found a bulk yoghurt with a lower sugar content. I tested a few key supplements I had lying around, and found I could now digest pills. So I started taking everything I’d stored up but been unable to use. This resulted in a major improvement. At the same time, I gradually began eating a more diverse collection of foods, letting intuition guide me. No disaster ensued.

Once it was clear that I was cured, I wanted to know my new limits. And I didn’t intend to wait 6 months to find out. Among other things, I’ve tested a half block of cheese (lactose and fat intolerance), modest amounts of fruit (fructose and insoluble fiber intolerance), and the finisher, a greasy-spoon restaurant meal.

None of these could induce a return of the diarrhea that has plagued me for the last 8 years. However, the first and third did make me tired and give me gas for a couple of days. So I’m not invincible. The former was probably a matter of trying too much fat too soon (I have liver damage impairing fat digestion), and the latter was simply unfit for human consumption.

All this took about two weeks to transpire, from June 15 to June 28 [2012], and brings us to the present. I am eating a varied and delicious diet, and enjoying good energy and good health. My 8 year torment is at an end.

Conclusion: His girlfriend is Asian, he isn’t. More seriously, it really does show the power of fermented foods, in this case Yakult and yogurt.

Assorted Links

Seth Roberts2 Comments

Thanks to Bryan Castañeda and Alex Blackwood.

Disappointing Visit to Apple Store

Seth Roberts5 Comments

One of my friends loves her Ipad so I decided to get one. On the same day I started looking at options Microsoft announced their tablet, the Surface. It sounded good. I decided to do more research.

I went to the Apple Store in Palo Alto. The main things I will do with my Ipad are read books and magazines and watch movies. I asked to see a movie on “the new Ipad”. No movies were available, so I watched a trailer for Brave. It was not a good experience. Lots of glare. How much worse could the Surface be? I wondered.

I was curious about the new naming policy. No “Ipad 3″, just “the new Ipad”. “Why isn’t this called the Ipad 3?” I asked an employee. “Company policy,” he said. “What’s the reason for the policy?” I asked. “They don’t tell us that,” he said.

I left the store thinking I would wait for the Surface. Later that day I had lunch with a friend, Steve Omohundro, who (with colleagues) long ago predicted the tablet computer and won a design competition (possibly sponsored by Apple) for doing so. He and his colleagues gave a talk about it and Steve Jobs was in the audience. I forgot to ask him what he thinks of the Ipad and the Surface.

Assorted Links

Seth Roberts3 Comments

Thanks to David Cramer.

Make Yourself Healthy Article by Me at Boing Boing

Seth Roberts6 Comments

An article by me about how a woman figured out she had gluten intolerance is on Boing Boing today. I first learned about the story through a comment this blog. Thanks, Ginna!

If you know of a case where someone (such as you) improved their health through science (= looking at data, experimentation, collecting data — the opposite of trusting experts) please let me know. In the gluten intolerance story, the experimentation and data collection were as simple as trying a gluten-free diet and learning its effect on (a) how you feel and (b) a kidney function score.