Top Tech Voices Podcast S2 E4: Biohacking & Human Enhancement

Like veluv01 , I also appreciated Dr. Jones calling out the fitness/wellness industry for churning out "content".  Unfortunately, this is another thing in our lives where the "experts" cannot be trusted.  It reminds me of a YouTube from 2017.   The Time Travelling Dietician.  I liked Dr. Jones' more moderate approach as "moderation" seems to be the only lasting recommendation with any success or longevity.  If it has hype... don't trust it.  I like the "pick one habit" and the truth that it takes months to develop the habit.  We were all told that it takes 21 days to create a habit.  This is clearly wrong - but this myth does get you to the second billing cycles at the gym.

Dr. Jones also mentions "app overload".  Yup.  I am definitely there.  I'm also tired of entering my life story into someone's database to get a slight benefit.  I'm more apt to pass than continue joining.  And I make sure to delete what information I may have entered up to that point.  There are already too many algorithms tracking my life.

Finally, I really don't like the phrase "biohacking".  It just sounds nefarious to me - regardless of how it is marketed.

Like veluv01 , I also appreciated Dr. Jones calling out the fitness/wellness industry for churning out "content".  Unfortunately, this is another thing in our lives where the "experts" cannot be trusted.  It reminds me of a YouTube from 2017.   The Time Travelling Dietician.  I liked Dr. Jones' more moderate approach as "moderation" seems to be the only lasting recommendation with any success or longevity.  If it has hype... don't trust it.  I like the "pick one habit" and the truth that it takes months to develop the habit.  We were all told that it takes 21 days to create a habit.  This is clearly wrong - but this myth does get you to the second billing cycles at the gym.

Dr. Jones also mentions "app overload".  Yup.  I am definitely there.  I'm also tired of entering my life story into someone's database to get a slight benefit.  I'm more apt to pass than continue joining.  And I make sure to delete what information I may have entered up to that point.  There are already too many algorithms tracking my life.

Finally, I really don't like the phrase "biohacking".  It just sounds nefarious to me - regardless of how it is marketed.

kmikemoo said:

I like the "pick one habit" and the truth that it takes months to develop the habit.

Perhaps first need to be clear here about what a habit actually is though.

I'd suggest that with some 'habits' you can start or end them instantly. You can wake up one morning, decide you are going to start or stop doing something and then carry on with that for the rest of your life. It just requires a realisation for change and a motivation to do it.

Subconscious habits are likely to be a different story however. That's where the brain likely has to make or break the  connections to allow the habit to become almost autonomous, and that is likely to take time.

There is also perhaps the question of what duration or number of instances are actually required in order for something to officially qualify as a habit. Also when does a habit transition to an obsessive behaviour or an addiction.

 beacon_dave Ah... you provoke thought...  

I agree that the term "habit" can be subjective.  I chose to accept "habit" as a very loose term for an action or activity that I wanted to change more so than a more exact definition.  When Dr. Jones referenced riding the escalator up versus walking up the escalator, I figured that "habit" was more like "propensity".  It may be intentional that the term can be ambiguous.  Not every habit is either good or bad - or needs to be changed.  I still prefer to put two spaces after a period when typing - although that is now considered improper form by modern writing standards.

I also agree that there is no magic number of repetitions or length of time required to "change a habit".  As you state, some unconscious decisions can be changed just by acknowledging that we have a propensity to do them.  Salt on food is one that comes to mind.  I used to add salt to french fries (chips) before even tasting them.  Then i read an article (on interviewing) that said that action inferred that I jump to conclusions without any information.  It doesn't matter if that inference is right or wrong, I started to at least take a bite before salting.  After my heart attack, I do more than take a bite.  I actually taste the food - and usually forego the salt.  The "habit" changed by moving it from a back-brain activity (almost autonomous) to a more front-brain activity.
Maybe it's like memory.  It depends on the value you assign to the change or event.

And... I'm with you 100% on asking where is the dividing line or breakover point.  I should be doing daily cardio.  I don't really enjoy exercise.  I have "fallen off the wagon" a few times in the past - even though I had months of prior repeated behavior.  Exercise should have been a habit by then - but it wasn't.  Otherwise, I wouldn't have quit doing it.  There is definitely a breakover point where it's not as much of a mental effort to exercise - even a bit of anxiousness if I don't.  But... I don't think it will ever get to the realm of "almost autonomous" (no matter how much I'd like it to).  If riding the escalator counts, why doesn't riding the exercise bike?
Always more questions than answers, this one.

kmikemoo said:

Salt on food is one that comes to mind.  I used to add salt to french fries (chips) before even tasting them.

Even that can sometimes be questionable. I already know my chips are unseasoned before I add any salt. Just like I don't taste raw meat before cooking it and I don't taste dry breakfast cereal before pouring milk on it.

I think it is still a conscious decision however, as sometimes I might go for tomato ketchup instead of the salt. I also cut out the chips altogether for a while and managed to resist the urge to pour salt on the table.

kmikemoo said:

I should be doing daily cardio.  I don't really enjoy exercise.

I don't think a lot of people do, unless they are the ones that get an endorphin rush out of it, in which case it can be borderline addiction.

I treat cardio as podcast time. I have several 100 podcasts lined up to listen to, so it's an ideal time to work through them, and audio is quite an easy format to work with when you are moving around on the machine.

Like-wise, I watched the above video podcast (and this week's e14 Presents) whilst doing some dance practice stood in front of the screen.
(Top Tip - don't try this whilst watching the car chase scene in the 1968 movie Bullitt, as it can induce some pretty trippy vertigo type effects)