The Body and The Car

Cam · 03-10-2003, 02:33 PM

My Hinduism professor today made an interesting connection. He said that it was interesting how we would never consider putting something harmful into our car, but we have no trouble eating things that are bad for our bodies. He noted that this is a sign of how overpowering our senses are when they want to be pleased.

There are a few of us that are more careful then others but for the majority of us we would rather eat 50 candy bars then stick a cup of sand in our gas tank, not matter what the consequences.

03-10-2003, 02:55 PM

Tell him he's a buttmuncher. You can work off 50 candy bars, but the likelihood of fixing sugar in the tank (or sand, though I don't know for certain if it has a similar effect) is pretty slim without spending major dollars.

I agree that senses are many times overpowering when it comes to decision making, but I think it's a flawed analogy.

slang · 03-10-2003, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cam
There are a few of us that are more careful then others but for the majority of us we would rather eat 50 candy bars then stick a cup of sand in our gas tank, not matter what the consequences.

Interesting subject Cam. I would agree with it overall but this example is not perfect. If I ate 50 candy bars (you weren't looking in my window were you?) I would recover without a trip to the Healthcare money collection representative. I'm guessing the sand in the gas tank would require some type of service sooner than later.

The trend is true though, people see a tangible item in their cars yet don't see the costs involved with abusing a body.

Just for the record I dont own a car. I started walking soon after my car was creamed on 911 (a Reading, Pa. urban terrorist hit it). After I recieved the settlement from the insurance whores, I decided to leave the Church of the Auto. It has changed my perspective as well as had a benefit to my health and fitness. I spent 10 years driving 25k plus a year and I kinda like walking now.

russotto · 03-10-2003, 03:13 PM

Perhaps my car is designed more sensibly. I put something bad in my car, it shows signs of displeasure. Misfires. Smoke coming out improper orifices. Hesitation. Nasty sounds.

If I put the sorts of things your Hinduism professor thinks are bad in me, I get signs of pleasure. A pleasant taste. A nice feeling in the stomach.

If, on the other hand, I put things your Hinduism professor thinks are good in me, such as green vegetables, I immediately get warning signs. A bitter taste in the mouth. A gagging sensation in the throat. An impulse to spit.

So either he's wrong about what is good and bad, or my body is engineered to react in a positive way to bad things. Either way, there's your answer to why we do it to ourselves but not to cars.

Uryoces · 03-10-2003, 03:26 PM

I stopped liking Fructose after I stopped growing. There was that weird growth spurt between 25-27, when I grew two more inches to my current 6'4" height.

I like munching on peanuts. I like a good cookie now and then, provided it's grainy enough. I like jerky or nice lean cuts of meat. I mostly like cuts of meat with veggies and rice, so that I'm eating as much plant matter as meat. It goes down so much better.

I've pretty much given up on sugar, and try to cut it completely out of my diet if possible. Cheeto's, puffy ones, are too damn good to resist, though...

Undertoad · 03-10-2003, 05:12 PM

HIGH ANGLE CELL

Looking down from the ceiling. In the foreground, lying on the top bunk, hands clasped behind his head as he stares off into space is MOSES. Moses is a gnarled, elderly black con with wire-rimmed spectacles. On the lower bunk, also with hands clasped behind his head and staring off at the same spot in space, is Hi .

VOICE OVER
I tried to sort through what the Doc had said, but prison ain't the easiest place to think.

MOSES
An' when they was no meat we ate fowl. An' when they was no fowl we ate crawdad. An' when they was no crawdad to be foun', we ate San'.

HI
You ate what?

MOSES
(nodding)
We ate San'.

HI
You ate sand?!

Undertoad · 03-10-2003, 05:19 PM

Cam · 03-10-2003, 05:51 PM

I agree the logic is flawed, but I thought the connection was interesting.

And I threw in the 50 candy bars, I just needed something to compare putting sand in a gas tank to. We could be talking about any sort of food that isn't exactly healthy for you.

03-10-2003, 07:06 PM

I was mostly being pesky earlier; it's not as bad as I said. I still think it's flawed, though.

But what I wanted to point out is the similarity between russotto's description of putting bad stuff in his car and what happens to most when we eat really bad stuff.

(Smoke out of orifices, etc).

jaguar · 03-10-2003, 09:51 PM

a better analogy would be eating say......bleach.
or a bucket of iron filings.
Logic is still flawed though.

Cam · 03-10-2003, 10:09 PM

I don't think the logic is so much flawed maybe more the analogy.

jaguar · 03-10-2003, 10:35 PM

Both are flawed
I mean as pretty much everyone has pointed out, you can work off 50 candy bars, i'd love to see a can 'work off' a cup of sugar in the tank.

Now i people regulary ate asbestos sheeting or dishwashing powder the logic would be sound but.....

Cam · 03-10-2003, 11:18 PM

Jag, I already admitted the logic was flawed, and I said the 50 candy bars were not exactly the best thing to use. But as slang realized it wasn't so much the damage that was done but more the fact that people are much more likely to do something harmful to themselves then to some other physical thing that they own.
Forget the sand in the tank analogy instead throw in some cheap gasoline that wouldn't destroy your engine but would cause your car to run poorly.

jaguar · 03-11-2003, 01:25 AM

Well then the difference comes down to money. The damage cheap gas can do will cost money to fix (unless you're a mechanic i guess, then you might still need spare parts, where as you can work out for free, people don't tend to view health in monentary terms, which i guess could be construed to be his point.

hot_pastrami · 03-11-2003, 12:04 PM

Perhaps a good analogy would be to compare eating candy bars to shooting nitrous oxide into your high-performance sports car. Like candy bars into a human, a small amount of nitrous into an auto's engine is pretty harmless, but yields higher energy output. But if you go too far, serious immediate as well as long-term side effects will begin to appear. Most people would eat themselves into an unhealthy state without thinking twice, but at the same time they woldn't dream of putting the health of their sports car at risk with too much nitrous.

The problem with my modified analogy is that it is hard to identify with... most people don't have high performance sports cars, and if they did, most wouldn't put nitrous on them. Of course the problem with most analogies is that they are completely ineffective and do little to alter the opinion of the receiving party. Sure, analogies seem to help put a handle on things, but think about it... when was the last anybody convinced you of anything using an analogy? Has it ever happened?

Hot Pastrami

03-10-2003, 02:33 PM	#1
Cam dripping with ignorance Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Grand Forks ND Posts: 642	The Body and The Car My Hinduism professor today made an interesting connection. He said that it was interesting how we would never consider putting something harmful into our car, but we have no trouble eating things that are bad for our bodies. He noted that this is a sign of how overpowering our senses are when they want to be pleased. There are a few of us that are more careful then others but for the majority of us we would rather eat 50 candy bars then stick a cup of sand in our gas tank, not matter what the consequences. __________________ After the seventh beer I generally try and stay away from the keyboard, I apologize for what happens when I fail.

03-10-2003, 03:13 PM	#4
russotto Professor Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 1,788	Re: The Body and The Car Perhaps my car is designed more sensibly. I put something bad in my car, it shows signs of displeasure. Misfires. Smoke coming out improper orifices. Hesitation. Nasty sounds. If I put the sorts of things your Hinduism professor thinks are bad in me, I get signs of pleasure. A pleasant taste. A nice feeling in the stomach. If, on the other hand, I put things your Hinduism professor thinks are good in me, such as green vegetables, I immediately get warning signs. A bitter taste in the mouth. A gagging sensation in the throat. An impulse to spit. So either he's wrong about what is good and bad, or my body is engineered to react in a positive way to bad things. Either way, there's your answer to why we do it to ourselves but not to cars.

03-10-2003, 05:12 PM	#6
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	from "Raising Arizona" HIGH ANGLE CELL <i>Looking down from the ceiling. In the foreground, lying on the top bunk, hands clasped behind his head as he stares off into space is MOSES. Moses is a gnarled, elderly black con with wire-rimmed spectacles. On the lower bunk, also with hands clasped behind his head and staring off at the same spot in space, is Hi .</i> <b>VOICE OVER</b> I tried to sort through what the Doc had said, but prison ain't the easiest place to think. MOSES An' when they was no meat we ate fowl. An' when they was no fowl we ate crawdad. An' when they was no crawdad to be foun', we ate San'. HI You ate what? MOSES (nodding) We ate San'. HI You ate sand?!

03-10-2003, 05:51 PM	#8
Cam dripping with ignorance Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Grand Forks ND Posts: 642	I agree the logic is flawed, but I thought the connection was interesting. And I threw in the 50 candy bars, I just needed something to compare putting sand in a gas tank to. We could be talking about any sort of food that isn't exactly healthy for you. __________________ After the seventh beer I generally try and stay away from the keyboard, I apologize for what happens when I fail.

03-10-2003, 07:06 PM	#9
dave Guest Posts: n/a	I was mostly being pesky earlier; it's not as bad as I said. I still think it's flawed, though. But what I wanted to point out is the similarity between russotto's description of putting bad stuff in his car and what happens to most when we eat <b>really</b> bad stuff. (Smoke out of orifices, etc).

03-10-2003, 02:55 PM	#2
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Tell him he's a buttmuncher. You can work off 50 candy bars, but the likelihood of fixing sugar in the tank (or sand, though I don't know for certain if it has a similar effect) is pretty slim without spending major dollars. I agree that senses are many times overpowering when it comes to decision making, but I think it's a flawed analogy.

03-10-2003, 03:26 PM	#5
Uryoces 2nd Covenant, yo Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Pugetropolis Posts: 583	I stopped liking Fructose after I stopped growing. There was that weird growth spurt between 25-27, when I grew two more inches to my current 6'4" height. I like munching on peanuts. I like a good cookie now and then, provided it's grainy enough. I like jerky or nice lean cuts of meat. I mostly like cuts of meat with veggies and rice, so that I'm eating as much plant matter as meat. It goes down so much better. I've pretty much given up on sugar, and try to cut it completely out of my diet if possible. Cheeto's, puffy ones, are too damn good to resist, though...

03-10-2003, 05:19 PM	#7
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423

03-10-2003, 09:51 PM	#10
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	a better analogy would be eating say......bleach. or a bucket of iron filings. Logic is still flawed though. __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

03-10-2003, 10:09 PM	#11
Cam dripping with ignorance Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Grand Forks ND Posts: 642	I don't think the logic is so much flawed maybe more the analogy. __________________ After the seventh beer I generally try and stay away from the keyboard, I apologize for what happens when I fail.

03-10-2003, 10:35 PM	#12
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	Both are flawed I mean as pretty much everyone has pointed out, you can work off 50 candy bars, i'd love to see a can 'work off' a cup of sugar in the tank. Now i people regulary ate asbestos sheeting or dishwashing powder the logic would be sound but..... __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

03-10-2003, 11:18 PM	#13
Cam dripping with ignorance Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Grand Forks ND Posts: 642	Jag, I already admitted the logic was flawed, and I said the 50 candy bars were not exactly the best thing to use. But as slang realized it wasn't so much the damage that was done but more the fact that people are much more likely to do something harmful to themselves then to some other physical thing that they own. Forget the sand in the tank analogy instead throw in some cheap gasoline that wouldn't destroy your engine but would cause your car to run poorly. __________________ After the seventh beer I generally try and stay away from the keyboard, I apologize for what happens when I fail.

03-11-2003, 01:25 AM	#14
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	Well then the difference comes down to money. The damage cheap gas can do will cost money to fix (unless you're a mechanic i guess, then you might still need spare parts, where as you can work out for free, people don't tend to view health in monentary terms, which i guess could be construed to be his point. __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

03-11-2003, 12:04 PM	#15
hot_pastrami I am meaty Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,119	Perhaps a good analogy would be to compare eating candy bars to shooting nitrous oxide into your high-performance sports car. Like candy bars into a human, a small amount of nitrous into an auto's engine is pretty harmless, but yields higher energy output. But if you go too far, serious immediate as well as long-term side effects will begin to appear. Most people would eat themselves into an unhealthy state without thinking twice, but at the same time they woldn't dream of putting the health of their sports car at risk with too much nitrous. The problem with my modified analogy is that it is hard to identify with... most people don't have high performance sports cars, and if they did, most wouldn't put nitrous on them. Of course the problem with most analogies is that they are completely ineffective and do little to alter the opinion of the receiving party. Sure, analogies seem to help put a handle on things, but think about it... when was the last anybody convinced you of anything using an analogy? Has it ever happened? Hot Pastrami __________________ Hot Pastrami!

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