"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts" Feynman once said. As a physicist I share the same belief that no truths should be taken for granted just because the vast majority of people adhere to them. To be frank it is an attitude towards life that requires vasts amounts of mental energy, but it is rewarding. It is an attitude that the vast majority of physicists, not just everyday people hasn't adopted yet. Most people will follow blindly their habits just because they have been told to do so. A critical mindset might not be enough to be fair though. Good intuition and intelligence, as well as creativity is also required to adopt superior everyday habits than that of most people. So, here are 10 everyday items that I simply don't use:
1)Toothpaste. I simply hate the taste of their harmful chemicals. Do some theoretical research and you will find that appart from the fake research articles supported by the industries, there is also research demonstrating the detrimental consequences of its harmful compounds. The foods we eat, and in particular certain plant based foods contain compounds that can protect our teeth from cavities. This doesn't mean that you can eat added sugar, honey or even unlimited amounts of citrus fruit and still have healthy teeth indefinately.
2)Toothbrushes. All they do they damage your teeth if they don't offer anything at all. Why wouldn't chewing an apple or cucumber for example clean your teeth as well? I wonder why...
3)Alchohol: I hate the effect of this neurotoxin on my brain. I feel mental weakness, that makes it easy for me to say no to alcohol. I feel this feeling of mental weakness is even worse than losing sleep. This is not to say that alcohol doesn't come with empty calories, or that it doesn't cause cancer and other illnesses and accidents. Let alone that it has no long term benefit.
4)Coffee. Coffee and energy drinks or even cacao contain stimulants that will make your sleep less deep, no matter how well you sleep. Well, sleep is for me of paramount significance, and I would hate to jeopardise it for any reason.
5)Added sugar or honey. I feel that's the best way to age faster and damage your proteins, teeth and health in general.
6)Shampoo. Oh well that shampoo contains 0.5% raspberry extract, enough for the company to put a huge raspberry photo on the bottle. The rest of it contains mostly harmful and needless chemicals. Try to create your own shampoo with fruits and healthy oils and herbs and you will notice the difference. Do some research for each of the chemicals a shampoo contains and you will be surprised by how farmful they are.
7)Washing machine chemicals. They are simply a lot more toxic compared to shampoos and it is proven by their unbearable perfume and smell. I simply use shampoo to wash my clothes, and there it indeed finds a useful use.
8)Deodorants, perfumes, liquids used to wash dishes, and liquids used to clean the house or even most hand cleaning soaps and liquids. Well, these were some bonus items that I avoid, but they all fall under the same category of being 100% useless, and utterly harmful. If you ever read a research article supporting them it is either by mistake, or an example of pure support from their industries. I am not going to lie to you though, most research is honest and definatively against the safety of their compounds. I have never understood how liquid soap plus water will remove dirt from hands better than pure water. Use vinegar, or even citrus fruit and natural oil soap to clean your hands. You can even use alcohol. Use boiling water and citrus fruit or vinegar to clean your dishes.
9)Cigarettes. Well, I find cigarrete smoke unaffordable. I know that a lot of you will continue to smoke for your reasons, but again science would support my claims about the damage of tobacco on health.
10)Underwear. I know that this is more debatable and will sound perhaps even gross to most of you, however I don't wear any underwear. I am happy to keep myself clean and to wash my clothes very frequently.
11)Bonus item: socks. There is a fame about Einstein not wearing them, but I almost always wear socks. Your shoes will get dirty very easily and will start to smell. An other reason I wear socks is that I get easily injured by most shoes, so here is also a common item that I use. However, I will definately change everyday my socks, and never sleep with them.
I wonder what is your list of everyday items that you avoid? Let me know in the comments below.