YOU are an n=1 experiment

by Douglas Robb, @healthhabits 

As a personal trainer, blogger and giant fitness nerd obsessed with helping people get fitter, leaner, stronger, healthier and hopefully live longer & better, I am constantly absorbing new theories, opinions and scientific research.

In addition to a steady diet of scientific journals, I have a list of health & fitness blogs that I like to keep an eye on.

• Some of those blogs are written by scientists.
• Others are written by nutritionists, physical therapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, bodybuilders, crossfitters, amateur runners, nutrition gurus, personal trainers and “normal people” documenting their personal journey towards optimum health & fitness.

It is in this second group of blogs where I was introduced to the use of scientific jargon as an insult. While reading the comment sections of some of my favorite health & fitness blogs, I kept running into the terms…

• correlation isn’t causation and
• n=1

…with both of those terms being used exclusively by readers trying to disparage the theory/argument being put forth by the blogger.

And the more I saw it, the more it started to raise my ire. Even if I agreed with the reader, I felt that spitting out a “correlation isn’t causation” or an “n=1" comment to be lazy, insulting and more than just a little bit douchy.

Sure, a vegan food blogger who claims that eating meat is akin to suicide just because of their personal experience is pretty much asking for some troll to hit him with a “correlation isn’t causation” or an “n=1" comment.

But at least the blogger had taken the time to:

1. experiment with their diet to find what works best for their body,
2. document all of this personal experimentation, and
3. share it with the rest of the world

While Mr. N=1 sits back and waits for a double-blind study with thousands of test subjects (n=1000s) to prove/disprove every new idea/theory/protocol/program/diet/workout/etc…

And that’s just sad.

Because throughout history, very few of our major advances in science, medicine and technology have been due to corporate-funded mega-studies.

Most of our major advances as a species have came due to individuals with an optimal combination of curiosity and brain-power.

And while most of us don’t have the cerebral horsepower to change the world as we know it, we sure as heck have the ability to optimize our own little lives.

We all have the ability to:

• modify our diets
• play with dietary supplements
• intensify our exercise routine
• quiet our stressed-out minds
• and experiment with all sorts of slightly crazy ideas being thought up by those of us born with an insatiable curiosity to try something new

We are all our own personal n=1 experiment.

• We can try to make ourselves better
• We can track those efforts to see what works and what doesn't

And if we care about our fellow man, we can choose to share those experiments with the rest of the planet via a blog, or Facebook page or an article on Medium.

But if you do, don’t be surprised if some a-hole leaves you a smarmy “n=1" comment.