How to be a person - Dale Carnegie and The Game | Hacker News Reader

How to be a person - Dale Carnegie and The Game

stuckk.net

20 pointsjhust12 comments

> Everyone knows that you should “Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.”

Not everybody knows this. I learned it by reading the book.

point taken. it's possible the issue is more nuanced: some of the benefit comes just from forcing people to be conscientious about how they interact w/ people, and some comes from the specific tips he provides.

Yes I would agree as most of the advice in the book is more common sense than groundbreaking. When I got to the part about not telling people "You're wrong" and directly criticizing mistakes I didn't need to be convinced. Rather I immediately realized that I do tend to do this often and I should probably make an effort to do it less.

Before reading the book though, I had never once examined that aspect of my personality and how I interact with others.

This reminds me of vegetarians. There's nothing inherently healthier about the vegetarian diet; you could be a vegetarian and live on nothing but pizza and ice cream. Any health benefits there are come from having to stop and think "can I eat this?" all the time. But anyone can do that on any diet, so long as they form the habit.

I'm fairly sure I've read research claiming that this effect is a big part of the effectiveness of fad diets i.e. not having two different coloured foods touching or only having carbs if the day of the month is even may be stupid rules but by observing them you have your focus brought to what you're eating.

most "vegetarians" are fat, as are most people who eat mostly health food (since it's usually 50% of calories from fat).

The only healthy way to eat is vegan with no more than 10% of calories from fat.

most "vegetarians" are fat, as are most people who eat mostly health food

As one on a lesser news site might say, pics or it didn't happen.

Or, paraphrased the HN way: Cite sources, please.

I couldn't find any studies but did find this interesting article titled "Roman gladiators were fat vegetarians" http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/ancient/AncientRepublish_ 1081439.htm

It's amazing how illogical people are when thinking about food/nutrition. Here are some sources:

First, read The China Study:

http://www.amazon.com/China-Study-Comprehensive-Nutrition-Im...

The incredibly thorough, epidemiological study conducted shows that consumption of animal protein (meat, fish, dairy) correlates hugely with 0besity and diseases of affluence. Further, more micro studies confirm that animal protein is the cause of cancer actually developing after exposure to a carcinogen.

Then walk into a vegetarian restaurant and look around. People are pale, chunky, weak-looking, and generally the opposite of health. You'll find the same at most health food co-ops.

Then look at a "health food" cook book and see the huge amounts of oils, nuts, etc. that are used in the recipes. You'll notice that most of the food has around 50% of calories from fat. Compare this to the stats from a McDonalds menu.

Now go into a vegetarian Indian restaurant -- most of the people who work there and eat there will be chunky.

For more information on some of the downside of the typical "healthy" diet in modern America, check out the book "The 80 10 10 diet" which really hits hard on the fat content of so-called health food. Doug Graham advocates eating mostly fresh fruits and vegetables. The China Study (above) suggests that Graham is a bit more extreme than necessary and that carbs are OK too, but the less refined the better:

http://www.amazon.com/80-10-Diet/dp/1893831248/ref=sr_1_1?ie...

Bottom line: Food producing companies know that food products are significantly easier to sell if they are labled "health foods". So lots of foods are labeled that way. The whole "healthy oils" movement is a farce (explained in both books I cite). No, slathering your food in olive oil does not make it more nutritious!

Consider the undisputed fact that big agriculture is heavily corn-driven. Corn sweetens your cola and cereal, feeds your beef and chicken, etc. But did you know that corn and soy are a standard crop rotation? Of course we are told that soy protein is good for you (in fact, the compound soy protein isolate found in many health foods promotes cancer cell growth the same way that meat does).

I am shocked that my comment above got modded down. I encourage anyone who is curious and open minded to take a look at the references and observable evidence cited above.

I don't see how the book is "mostly unoriginal" or "the way it helps isn't what you'd expect." I REALLY don't see how this correlates to "The Game" at all, other than they are both self-help books of some kind. Everything you said about The Game could just as easily apply to any other book written about personal interaction.

I'm not trying to be harsh, but if there are connections between these things, I want to see them truly explored with claims that are substantiated (or at least explained).

A number of psychological studies have shown that any kind of change in behavior/attention direction - e.g. self-helpy type things - will promote change for the better... for a little while.

The self-attention that all those processes require, the mindfulness, is key. Most of them can work because all of them require attention.

It just doesn't last without dedication is all.

i agree w/ gaius that this principle extends to other aspects of living. i'm not sure many of the lifehacks are as universally effective/valuable as they are claimed... i think a lot of the benefit gained from reading productivity porn like lifehacker comes from being forced to actually evaluate how you spend your time and energy...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com