I would be interested to know how carefully the analysis that produced that number dealt with, e.g., the likelihood that people sufficiently concerned and conscientious to floss their teeth regularly are also more likely to be taking good care of their bodies in other ways.
A little old now, but I just noticed this comment. My recollection of the dentists words were that it increased your life expectancy by two years. That is, if you were guessing how old someone would live, knowing that they flossed would put them at two years above an average person. In other words, there isn't necessarily the slightest bit of causality in this assessment. I still find this sufficient motivation to floss, so I don't care. It would be a good idea to not take this on faith if you were interested in the truth, rather than in just motivating yo...
This is the public group instrumental rationality diary for the week of July 9th. It's a place to record and chat about it if you have done, or are actively doing, things like:
Or anything else interesting which you want to share, so that other people can think about it, and perhaps be inspired to take action themselves. Try to include enough details so that everyone can use each other's experiences to learn about what tends to work out, and what doesn't tend to work out.
Thanks to everyone who contributes!
Academian put up a wiki page with links to the prior May and June threads for reference. Good idea, thanks!