On Mon, 14 Jul 1997, Moira wrote:

> My question is, why does the dominant media put so much emphasis on "low fat"?
>
> Isn't this dangerous?  Why is everyone in this culture obsessed with low fat?

We are talking about a phenomenon that has come to be called a
"paradigm", a term coined (rather, adopted for this purpose) by
the late Thomas Kuhn.  A paradigm is what you get when people
reach a consensus that a certain problem has been solved, in a
certain way.  When this happens, further discussion proceeds as
if this problem has been solved for all time, and there is a low
tolerance for questioning the "solution."  Data that do not fit
the paradigm are ignored or otherwise dismissed as irrelevant,
defective, etc.  The paradigm is presented in textbooks and
success tends to depend upon one's mastery and acceptance of the
paradigm.

To see what happens when one goes against the paradigm in a
public way, look at the career of Robert Atkins.  Successful as
he is among dieters, he is an object of loathing and contempt
among scientists and physicians.

The forces that cause a paradigm to change are as much social as
they are logical.  In addition, there must be a new paradigm
available to leap to.

Contemporary medical science regards it as "settled" that dietary
fat causes many health problems; many careers have been built on
this paradigm, and these careers will defend it bitterly.  The
media tend to serve as cheerleaders for the paradigm.

We live in interesting times.

Todd Moody
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