New scientist letter.
Jan. 22nd, 2012 10:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fjmThere is an unpleasant letter in this week's New Scientist called Festive Fieldwork
18 January 2012 by Jacques and Dominic St Clair
Magazine issue 2848.
We can confirm the work of Brian Wansink and colleagues on buffet consumption (24/31 December 2011, p 50) from observations at a recent family event. As the first plates appeared on the table, a number of large, round shapes appeared in the gloom at the other end of the room.
As more food was added, these round shapes gradually moved closer to the table, so that when the buffet opened, the head of the queue was composed almost entirely of people with a high body mass index (BMI).
We propose the following equation: d = 1/gf where d is the distance from the buffet, f the quantity of food available and g for greed is a constant. We also propose that g is directly related to BMI for each individual.
I have sent the following reply.
Jacques and Dominic St. Clair need to be reminded that anthropological fieldwork is invariably biased by the observer. I wonder how they *knew* the BMI of everyone in the room? Did they compare the round people to the well muscled? Furthermore, I note no record of what the queue of "large, round shapes" actually took from the buffet. Perhaps it was a plate full of salad because all were on diets. As a long time convention organiser I have never yet seen anyone "large" or "round" exceed the greed of the young skinny woman who piled her plate two inches deep, added a side plate much the same, and chose three deserts, and who then proceeded to mash all the food on her plate to a pulp occasionally raising fork to mouth. without, as far as we can tell, eating any of it.
Please do not print ill disguised prejudice as joky research.
Yours
18 January 2012 by Jacques and Dominic St Clair
Magazine issue 2848.
We can confirm the work of Brian Wansink and colleagues on buffet consumption (24/31 December 2011, p 50) from observations at a recent family event. As the first plates appeared on the table, a number of large, round shapes appeared in the gloom at the other end of the room.
As more food was added, these round shapes gradually moved closer to the table, so that when the buffet opened, the head of the queue was composed almost entirely of people with a high body mass index (BMI).
We propose the following equation: d = 1/gf where d is the distance from the buffet, f the quantity of food available and g for greed is a constant. We also propose that g is directly related to BMI for each individual.
I have sent the following reply.
Jacques and Dominic St. Clair need to be reminded that anthropological fieldwork is invariably biased by the observer. I wonder how they *knew* the BMI of everyone in the room? Did they compare the round people to the well muscled? Furthermore, I note no record of what the queue of "large, round shapes" actually took from the buffet. Perhaps it was a plate full of salad because all were on diets. As a long time convention organiser I have never yet seen anyone "large" or "round" exceed the greed of the young skinny woman who piled her plate two inches deep, added a side plate much the same, and chose three deserts, and who then proceeded to mash all the food on her plate to a pulp occasionally raising fork to mouth. without, as far as we can tell, eating any of it.
Please do not print ill disguised prejudice as joky research.
Yours
