#7 What the strongest materials in the universe teach about achieving peak human health and performance
Our Debut Youtube Video / Solo Podcast
When I started this newsletter I said I was going to do video content… unfortunately, my budget for video editing is fairly limited at this time so here’s a a video of me talking about everything light related I know, all in one go, unscripted.
Prologue: The video starts with some stuff about materials engineering that might not seem relevant, but to me it’s deeply connected. Once you see how much nuance and detail there is within a “simple” material and how imperfect our models are, you get an intuitive sense that there must be limits in systems that are unimaginably more complex (e.g. anything biological). This does not mean that we cannot apply physics and scientific methods in these domains, but that it is imperative we chose our questions wisely and frame concepts in a way that will deliver good results.
If we do not do this we run into the problem that Nassim Taleb called the Carpenter’s Fallacy: just because a carpenter makes the roulette table does not mean she knows probability theory. Similarly, most of what is taught in biology is what things are in name and how to use various instruments in a lab like a technician. People know that molecular science will not suddenly yield an answer to the life, the universe, and everything, so why do they expect molecular science to be the dominant factor that impacts health outcomes?
An obese, sedentary person with all modern medicine is worse off than a healthy fit person without it. Anyone who would nitpick about the benefits of medicine in a handful of highly impactful ways in not taking a high-level enough perspective. For instance, germ theory indicating the need to wash your hands is of uptmost importance when you live in a primitive city, but if you live in the wilderness, you might not have to worry so much about whether people are defecating in the water supply. Modern medicine has given itself a rather big pat on the back mostly for resolving some of the major issues that come when we change the dynamics of how we live.
As we are witnessing now, those high level dynamics can be more important than the biological tools at our disposal. I am hopeful that the realization that an engineered technology such as a position-sensing door opener that prevents hand-to-hand contact can be followed with something slightly more advance. We still need the biology, but the system that replaces the doorknob is arguable the cutting edge, and with that perspective, I propose the “basic” technologies of light I discuss here are the real bleeding edge of health technology.
If you want to support a better quality video next time, you can order stuff from our webstore. Production on glasses and lights is nearly finished. Hoping to have everything shipped to US in 2-3 weeks. Some of the IRONFORGE near IR lights are running low (2 left on Black Series) so if you want one now’s a good time to order. We will probably revamp graphic design and marketing before ordering more of those, and even if we don’t you’ll still be waiting an extra ~2 months for the following batch.
