I was just listening to

a little "harangue" on TV in the background as I was writing the previous post. A medical "expert" was being asked about the wisdom of taking health supplements.

Well, we've all heard these dissertations from health experts a thousand times and they're usually much the same: the DANGER of taking too many vitamins and supplements and ... always ask your DOCTOR before going ahead and doing something stupid on your own. (How much do doctors actually know about nutrition? How much training do they get on nutrition throughout their entire training regimen? I've heard that it amounts to about one hour max.!~)

Hear the tone of their voice; it's URGENT and hyped in order to emphasize the DANGER.

Well, I suppose you hear the same thing if/when you listen to health supplement infomercials!~

Well, rule of thumb is that ... if anyone ever has anything truly intelligent and reasonable to say about anything ... he/she will say it without added emotion. They'll explain and answer questions matter-of-factly so that the recipient can follow the reasoning behind what they're explaining.

When you hear the hype and whipped emotion and talking so fast you can't even catch all the words ... you can usually dismiss it as being quite a bit of guff. (Think about televangelists in this regard as well).

-Vince