I have been told a lot of things over the years, especially by the “experts”.This has concerned a wide variety of subjects and, even the experts haven’t agreed most of the time.
One of the biggies, recently, for me has been Dreamfield’s Pasta. Since working very hard on my Diabetic Diet concerning carbs, I have looked to labels more and more. When a good friend recommended DF to me, I went to the local Kroger’s and looked for it. The label gave an astounding promise of 5 net carbs per serving! This was simply beyond belief. So, I bought it, took it home, and began eating. Now, I am much more careful since my stroke, so I did continue my research and test on my own. I subscribed to the comments on DF and was devastated to hear that all the “experts” and scientific testing showed that DF was no better than any other pasta and referred to it as the “Dreamfield Fraud”.
I decided to test harder. After conducting some fairly intensive personal tests and redoing them off and on for the last few months, I have concluded that, for me, DF works. I have revised it just a bit (under cook the pasta just a shade – Al Dente) and use a low-carb sauce now. However, it does not raise my sugar and allows me to eat a good portion of spaghetti now when I feel the urge.
What amazed me more was that, after I commented on the website about my findings and conclusions (I always said “for me” and “test for yourself”), I was told that 1) I was wrong; 2) I was a liar 3) I was telling a story to promote DR (I was a rep). I retested and put the findings out again, and, again, was told that I was not a scientist and was, therefore, doing it wrong and so on. People would almost hatefully argue this with me, as if I was calling them liars with their own discoveries.
It did not seem to matter that I kept stating that it was true “for me” and that everyone “should test” for themselves. I pointed out that not everyone was alike and that, only by checking things out for themselves, would they really know.
It’s been kinda funny, but, in the last few weeks, I have had several people comment on the site that, “I tested this and it works for me” and “not everyone is the same”.
The reason I put this here is two-fold:
First, many people take it as a personal attack if you say anything different from their views. I notice this in all areas, but, especially, in religion.
Second, I have also seen that, once someone speaks up, it doesn’t take long before there are others.
My Dad is in the hospital; “experts” (well, one) have said what he needs and dismissed my sister when she asked questions about it all. I find that terrifying that an “expert” no longer considers it necessary to study the situation more and that he/she is not willing to explain the situation to those extremely concerned about the matter.
As I told my students many times, “Science, in my opinion, is a ‘best guess’ thing, in spite of ‘facts’. After all, we were a flat world once. Also, there was no such thing as germs or radiation.”
We change our “facts” all the time. It is now believed that an object (sub-atomic, but an object) can, indeed, be in two places at once. Supposedly, it can be proved. What this all tells me is that an expert should be someone who is continually looking to improve and find new facts, and everyone can learn from others.
I hope and plan to never stop learning. And, a good way for me to learn has been to teach.
All of you have something to teach and much to learn.
Do both.
Namaste,
Scott
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