Cooking is enjoyable (even if I suck at it) and eating together with others is an important social ritual.
Soylent takes all the enjoyment and the little bits of social interaction still present in our lives out and replaces them with 'fueling up', a hyper-optimized model for an already stressed to the hilt working life.
But that's why slowing down a bit is actually good. Take your time to cook, chew your food and talk with your fellow human beings. Share your meals, every day.
Sure, preparing and cooking food takes time. But you know, that's actually a good thing and I'm saying that as someone that would probably spend a lot more time still on the computer if cooking and sharing the cooked food would not be an important part of my daily schedule. And I'll never give that up. So I guess soylent isn't for me. I prefer my foods to be fresh and tasty, and I think I can do that for roughly the same amount of money that this goop costs.
Variation is good, social interaction is good, I can't see the point in soylent, not to mention the interesting question of what will happen long term healthwise if you switch to a mono-cultural product like this for any significant fraction of your diet.
Best of luck to those that are going down this route, meanwhile I'll spend some time with my friends and family with salads, sandwiches, pastas and other foods over here.
HN takes away all the enjoyment and the little bits of direct social interaction still present in our lives and replaces them with text-only messages, which lacks the fundamental attributes of physical presence, and I'll never give that up, so I guess HN isn't for me.
Best of luck to those that are going down the route of online discussions, meanwhile I'll spend some time with real people and not just bits.
HN allows you to interact with hundreds of people from all over the globe, something that you could not do in real life, it would be a physical impossibility.
On top of that it does not replace you normal day-to-day interaction with others, nor does it aim to do so, it simply complements it.
Soylent does not do anything regular food does not already do except (probably) save some time, replaces enjoyment of food (taste, smell) and good company with slurping sludge and aims to replace.
The company may aim to replace all their users' meals with Soylent, but the user can have different aims, which can just be to replace the occasional meal that you had to rush, even if that's just once a month. Even the creator still eats normal meals with friends and family.
Besides, it only replaces company if the only thing you can do accompanied is eat. Otherwise, it might actually save you time to do other social activities, instead of having to drive home and spend 90 minutes preparing and eating a meal.
It's perfectly reasonable to have reservations about Soylent, but your comment just sounds like a "damn kids with your video games, get off my lawn".
> It's perfectly reasonable to have reservations about Soylent, but your comment just sounds like a "damn kids with your video games, get off my lawn".
Actually, your commented tried to ridicule, whereas mine was made in good faith and would have likely been exactly identical if I'd written it at 25 instead of nearly 50. In fact, back then I probably needed the health and social aspects of food and company more than I do today (and I was well aware of it).
I simply laid out my reasons for definitely not jumping on this bandwagon, and I don't have any dog in the race financially or otherwise.
So, what's your motivation for attacking anybody that dares to raise doubt about the product, or that maybe simply disagrees with their philosophy with such energy?
I don't know your age, nor do I care. Your comment (and others here) just strikes me as unimaginative and slightly self-aggrandizing; pontification on the value of shared meals and slowing down makes for boring reading. It's fine that you (and I don't mean just you) don't have an interest in Soylent, but I don't have an interest in getting a car, and yet I don't go around posting on Tesla threads about the value of walking and the dangers of cars.
Do you know the Onion's story of the man who mentions he has no TV[1]? That's how those posts sound to me.
I don't have a horse in this race, I'm not in any way associated with Soylent, nor do I even plan to buy a pack. I don't trust it as a meal replacement, and I think their claims are overreaching. I have no problem with concrete criticism, and you don't see me replying to ("attacking", as you put it) people raising valid questions, just those posting just to tell us how much they don't need it and those writing unprovable claims.
And they may be 9 posts (although they were only 8 before this post), but most are back-and-forth with people that replied to me.
>Take your time to cook, chew your food and talk with your fellow human beings. Share your meals, every day.
Some people live alone, just don't eat with other people or do things while they eat which prevents socializing.
And, you could still socialize while you (or your friends included) eat Soylent. You don't have to have food in front of you to sit at a dinner table.
>Sure, preparing and cooking food takes time. But you know, that's actually a good thing
Not for me. Sure, cooking can be fun enough, but I share my kitchen with 12 other people (live in a dorm), and the kitchen is what would be in a normal household. You now have to plan when to cook since the utilities can easily get taken.
Also, my time can be spent on other things, like relaxing instead of reading etc etc.
>Variation is good, social interaction is good, I can't see the point in soylent, not to mention the interesting question of what will happen long term healthwise if you switch to a mono-cultural product like this for any significant fraction of your diet.
Sure, social interaction is good. You don't have to replace every meal with Soylent, but the meals that are a hassle and you eat alone anyways can now be replaced by something that's probably healthier than a frozen pizza or a microwave dish.
I, for one, wouldn't mind replacing some of my meals with Soylent, since it will give me more flexibility than buying salad and having to eat home the next couple of days or else the salad will spoil (and similar circumstances).
In short Soylent gives:
* Flexibility
* More time
* More than likely a healthier alternative to fast food
That said, it isn't for everyone. If you have time and enjoy cooking, then do so. You can also just supplement with Soylent, og supplement with cooking once in a while. Or lastly go full Soylent (which I probably wouldn't). But everyone doesn't fit into one box.
The best thing I could be doing is spending at least 8h per week less in front of the computer, not optimising the rest of my time so I can be on it even more!
The best thing I could be doing is spending at least 8h per week less in front of the computer, not optimising the rest of my time so I can be on it even more!
Because Soylent precludes using your time for anything besides being in front of the computer?
Soylent takes all the enjoyment and the little bits of social interaction still present in our lives out and replaces them with 'fueling up', a hyper-optimized model for an already stressed to the hilt working life.
But that's why slowing down a bit is actually good. Take your time to cook, chew your food and talk with your fellow human beings. Share your meals, every day.
Sure, preparing and cooking food takes time. But you know, that's actually a good thing and I'm saying that as someone that would probably spend a lot more time still on the computer if cooking and sharing the cooked food would not be an important part of my daily schedule. And I'll never give that up. So I guess soylent isn't for me. I prefer my foods to be fresh and tasty, and I think I can do that for roughly the same amount of money that this goop costs.
Variation is good, social interaction is good, I can't see the point in soylent, not to mention the interesting question of what will happen long term healthwise if you switch to a mono-cultural product like this for any significant fraction of your diet.
Best of luck to those that are going down this route, meanwhile I'll spend some time with my friends and family with salads, sandwiches, pastas and other foods over here.