Author Archives: BigBill

About BigBill

Stats: Married male boomer. Hobbies: Hiking, woodworking, reading, philosophy, good conversation.

Electric trains and delayed gratification

Posted on February 5, 2016 by BigBill

When I was a kid (I think maybe 11), my brother Jim and I decided we wanted to have an electric train set. We looked at the different sizes (called “gauges”); HO gauge is sized in between the two other … Continue reading →

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Grandpa Shaddle’s workshop

Posted on January 28, 2016 by BigBill

When I was growing up in north central Illinois, my grandparents lived just across the street. Most houses in the Midwest have full basements, but my grandfather’s was special. Grandpa Shaddle loved woodworking and had a workshop in his basement, … Continue reading →

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Total recall

Posted on January 22, 2016 by BigBill

I grew up in a small farming community in north central Illinois. It’s still pretty much like it was some 6 decades later, but with different players and the Internet. Everyone knows everyone else; people belong to bowling leagues and … Continue reading →

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Looking for keys under a streetlamp

Posted on January 14, 2016 by BigBill

Why do RCTs of nutritional supplements often show no benefit? As I pointed out in a previous post, many of the large intervention trials over the past few years that have looked at the effect of nutritional supplements on health … Continue reading →

Posted in Nutrition and eating, Science | Leave a comment

Nerdly aside: randomized controlled trials (RCTs) defined

Posted on January 7, 2016 by BigBill

The placebo effect is a well-known phenomenon in medicine. If a person is told they are being given an extremely powerful and effective new medication, a significant percentage will improve, even if they are not told the product they are being … Continue reading →

Posted in General commentary on the world as I see it..., Nutrition and eating | Leave a comment

It’s 2016!

Posted on January 1, 2016 by BigBill

Hard to believe, but another year is behind us and a new one just beginning. Actually, that’s true every single morning, but it seems we only take note of it on this day. It would be interesting to find out … Continue reading →

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Paradigm shifts, correlations and intervention trials

Posted on December 30, 2015 by BigBill

I have read that paradigms change from the outside, and do so slowly. I got into the field I am in now (therapeutic nutrition) over 40 years ago. Back then, the conventional wisdom of the medical community was that vitamin … Continue reading →

Posted in Nutrition and eating | Leave a comment

Yeah, but…

Posted on December 25, 2015 by BigBill

In my previous post I talked about how it’s important to consider opposing viewpoints when examining what you believe. My position is that while generally true, there are situations where opposing perspectives should not be given equal time. In other … Continue reading →

Posted in General commentary on the world as I see it..., Religion and philosophy | Leave a comment

Occam’s law and space aliens

Posted on December 17, 2015 by BigBill

I think it’s important to be fair. Not just to people, but also to ideas. Critical thinking (of which I am a huge fan) requires that you carefully examine available information before deciding what’s “right.” (And by the way, that … Continue reading →

Posted in General commentary on the world as I see it..., Religion and philosophy | Leave a comment

I didn’t know them.

Posted on December 11, 2015 by BigBill

Not too long ago one of the houses in my subdivision caught fire. I heard there was an electrical short in the garage someplace, a flame started and spread to the house. The family got out with some smoke inhalation … Continue reading →

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