An occasional practice of friends of mine in college was to eat a snickers bar, or anything sweet, for its "sugar rush" before class. The idea being that the short burst of energy it provides would help them stay awake and focus on the lecture.
In several episodes of the FOX reality show, Nanny 911, the super-nannies will often be seen advising parents to control their childrens' hyperactivity by limiting their sugar intake. Sugar rushes, it seems, are sometimes good and sometimes bad.
Except for one small detail. They don't exist.
Sugar is not Red Bull. It does not provide a boost in energy, and there is no scientific explanation why it would. There is no research to support it. But it exists in our minds because we have a term for it. So powerful is this linguistic unit, that it dominates our cognition and interferes with reasoning. Despite evidence to the contrary, this myth looks impossible to beat.
What is it about the mere existence of words or phrases that lends so much validity to the concept?
About Me
- Pawz
- Essential knowledge can be divided into science and philosophy. The how's and the why's. For the former, we have Wikipedia. The purpose of my blog is to share with you many of the irksome and unanswered "why's" of daily life, and to hear your thoughts. Traffic and the English language are a recurring theme in my head, and this blog will reflect it. I often find myself tortured by the irrationality that surrounds me, and perhaps opening my head up to you will be as cathartic as it will be interesting to absorb the diversity of contexts you may have to offer. Enjoy!
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