The offer's open to anyone, as long as the sum of all bets made so far is less than my maximum.
To make the numbers round, and give myself a little expected-profit margin, I'll put up $25 against each $10 someone else puts up. Bets settle via PayPal, in my favor if a diagnosis of celiac disease is reached, in your favor if a different diagnosis is made and confirmed, or if no diagnosis has been made by Jan 1.
It wouldn't hurt to spell out the steps Alicorn should take to rule in or out a diagnosis of celiac, since the blood test isn't completely reliable. It's my understanding that following a gluten free diet can be challenging at first, one needs to carefully read labels. Salad dressings, sauces, etc. often contain gluten. A friend of mine bought a separate toaster for her daughter who has celiac. I suggest specifying a set time period that he should follow a gluten free diet while keeping a diary listing all foods eaten, as well as any symptoms.
I can't tell from your log when you ate in relation to when the headaches come on.
One possibility that occurs to me is that your headaches might be occurring when your glucose levels are low, if you are prone to hypoglycemia. You can figure that out by observing if you tend to get the headaches when you haven't eaten for a few hours or more or/and by testing your glucose levels. If that does tend to be a problem, making sure that you have protein or/and some fat with your meals and frequent meals or snacks should help. Also, trying to avoid too simple carbohydrates and sugary foods, which cause glucose levels to spike and then plummet will help.
I think you might start by deciding first what kind of students you want to attract.
That's a good point. I've put some thought into this, but not a huge amount - probably because of a flinch. To me, the real point of what I'm doing is to produce competent, mentally healthy individuals. Ideally that would include everyone, but pragmatically that just isn't going to happen. So, whom shall I omit early on? It's an uncomfortable question, but you're quite right that it needs asking.
I wouldn't so much think about omitting anyone, as focusing on who you want to attract. The default plan for most students is to attend the local public school. So, you need to think about how you are going to convince people to attend your school instead. If you are going to start a private school, you will need to convince parents who can pay tuition that it's worth paying it and that it is better spent at your school than other available schools. If you want to start a charter, you'll need to convince the involved government bodies to approve and fund you. You'll have to be able to convince them that you will be filling unmet needs.
Often charter or private schools specialize. They market themselves to attract
gifted students who are bored in the public school or students with special needs students who don't feel safe in the public schools students with behavior problems students who are trying to get into top colleges and feel that they'll have an edge coming from there students wanting to study particular subject matter in depth, such as music, art, science
or some combination of the above
All schools hope to produce competent, mentally healthy individuals. You'll need to focus more tightly.
What's your opinion about radical honesty?
I think this comic illustrates what you're talking about in a cute way, http://www.dilbert.com - go to Aug. 31.
You said, "The history of religions sometimes resembles the history of viruses. Judaism and Islam were both highly virulent when they first broke out, driving the first generations of their people to conquer (Islam) or just slaughter (Judaism) everyone around them for the sin of not being them. "
I am not familiar with that history of early Judaism. Can you cite any references I can read about it? (I do admit I have not read the entire old testament, perhaps it's in there?) By the way, I have heard that Roman Catholics are actively discouraged from reading either testament directly.
I've come at this from a similar angle that is, I think, different in the details; and that is rationality as a failure of compartmentalization - the attempt to take everything you hear seriously.
Michael Vassar, again, has a similar angle which is different in the details: nerds result from failing to learn the nonverbal rules of adulthood that are different from the verbal rules.
I realize this is almost 2 years after your original posting, I'm going through Jimmy's top 100 articles now.
I just wanted to say that failing to learn the nonverbal rules of adulthood that are different from the verbal rules pretty much describes Aspies. Yes, there is a big overlap between Aspies and nerds- but I think you can be an Aspie and not a nerd and vice versa.
What's your opinion about radical honesty?
I think it's generally best for people to be diplomatic and tactful. It's generally best to think through the likely consequences of saying things and to filter what one says. I see nothing wrong with telling "white lies" to spare some one's feelings, in general.
...did you just call closeted atheists in theocracies dishonest and manipulative?
Good point. What I should have said is something along the lines of , "I prefer people who might not be bright to people who are dishonest or manipulative for personal gain." There is a big difference between that and "pretending to share the interpretation of reality shared by others for safety reasons." They are two very different questions.
Thinking about it more, though- I think it all depends on the circumstances. There are cases where being honest leads to discrimination. I heard that when my uncle, who had a PhD in chemistry, applied for a job at General Mills in the late 1930's or early 1940's, the employment application asked his religious preference. Discrimination against anyone other then Christians was legal and rampant at the time. He was a secular Jew, atheist. He wrote on the application, "I have no preference, I think all religions are lovely." I don't blame him in the least.
B. I prefer people who might not be bright to dishonest, manipulative people.
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Hey, if the blood test says I don't have celiac, I am not going to follow a miserable complicated diet for weeks just to win a bet.
I can understand your reluctance. May I suggest the following? How about if you get the blood test? If it's positive, then you'll know the problem and can fix your head. If it's negative, you really should work with a doctor and see if he can figure out what it is. Ask him to check out some of the other things suggested. If none of them solve your headaches, then you can try the gluten free diet - to be sure.
As far as the bet goes- what conditions are set are between you and Jim, I just think they should be clearly established, to avoid any misunderstandings. I strongly suspect that he's more interested in helping you figure out the cause of your headaches then in winning a bet.
I know people with celiac who follow the gluten free diet. My impression is that it takes some getting used to, but it isn't that miserable or complicated, once you get used to it. Nowadays supermarkets like Whole Foods have gluten free sections where you can buy special mixes, etc. which helps.