Comments on: Sweat Intuition

By: Ryan Cousineau

Ryan Cousineau — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:38:19 +0000

BTW, a quick follow-up: in my recent n=1 experiment, applying deodorant at night seems at least as effective as applying it in the morning, and more effective than applying it right after a shower.

Not especially scientific, mind: I didn’t blind the test, I haven’t kept a log, and I haven’t been rigorous in A-B testing from day to day to pair up conditions in any reasonable way.

But I think I stink a little less.

By: Robin Hanson

Robin Hanson — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:38:41 +0000

I just added to this post.

By: Elsa

Elsa — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:37:12 +0000

2 things –

First, definitely agree this insight is going to be much more resonant with someone more concerned about elevating their level of protection – so, people who have trouble finding effective protection as someone mentioned above, or very type A folk.

Second, resistance to the idea of putting it on at night, over the perspiration of the day – even if you aren’t particularly grimy before bed (say you shower in the morning) – seems like a psychological hurdle that remains unaddressed.

By: Zac Gochenour

Zac Gochenour — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:52:35 +0000

Eric H (and wife), are you suggesting that the recommendation for the timing of deodorant application has some political motivation behind it?

I agree with commenter Tony. The reason why people are resistant to this advice is that what they are doing is already working. If deodorant didn’t work for someone and you said “I read in Consumer Reports that doctors suggest you put it on at night” I think they’d be more receptive. They perhaps wrongly think that what is being suggested by “putting it on the night before works better” is “putting it on in the morning does not work,” which they know to be false.

By: Eric H's wife

Eric H's wife — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:03:16 +0000

Yeah, ditto what Eric said. Consumer Reports has increasingly stuck their noses into politicking -to their detriment- and ended up with poo stuck to their heels. The whole CPSIA matter has been highly educational. I will never assume an objective consumer interest organization is anything of the sort.

By: Tony

Tony — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:30:59 +0000

People won’t change because what they are doing is working.

While, as stated, there are habits and cultural reinforcements; “good enough” is completely satisfactory. If it didn’t work then people would fin other solutions.

By: quote out of context : clusterflock

quote out of context : clusterflock — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:55:31 +0000

[...] out of context Why do people think they are such experts on the right time of day to apply antiperspirant, so that they prefer their own intuition to Consumer Reports, doctors, and manufacturer’s [...]

By: Tracy W

Tracy W — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:29:49 +0000

Sorry for missing the word limit rule. I’ll try a shorter one.
There is a difference between saying that you’re an expert, and actually being an expert. What incentive did the researchers into the timing of deodorant application have to get their experiments right? Many “experts” in the past have given advice that has later on been drastically changed, eg should babies be fed on demand, or strictly every 4 hours? What illnesses should bleeding be used for? Should we eat a high-protein, or a high-carbohydrate, or a high-complex-carbohydrate diet?
It strikes me that in those cases where “expert” advice has most changed are ones where experts have limited incentives to be right. I would trust a mountaineer’s advice on mountaineering ropes, they literally lay their life on the line. I would trust an engineer who builds working cellphones as an expert on cellphones, if your cellphone doesn’t work it’s obvious. I trust smoking research because tobacco companies have ample incentives to criticise it, keeping the researchers on their toes. But I don’t see that deodorant manufacturers have a strong financial incentive to criticise any studies into the timing of deodorant application, and doctors treat too wide a range of diseases to spend vast amounts of time on sweaty armpits. Nor has any doctor I know ever mentioned spending days following what happens to people’s pores. It therefore strikes me that it is quite possible that the studies have never been thoroughly critically examined, and therefore that there are quite possibly a myriad of errors in the research. In these sorts of cases, a certain skepticism about claims of expertise strike me as wise, given the past failures of experts.
And Consumer Reports apparently only reports what doctors and manufacturers say, they don’t appear to have done any critical research into it themselves. Furthermore, they’re talking about the timing of application, not whether the product itself is any good, so it seems unlikely that they would be sued by the manufacturers if they get it wrong. So why should they be regarded as experts on this topic?
I’ll try the deodorant on at night, out of my own interest and because the experiment is cheap. I predict I won’t see a noticeable difference because of natural variations in the weather and the amount of exercise I get.

By: Etl World News | Assorted links

Etl World News | Assorted links — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:25:55 +0000

[...] 5. Improve your sweat management. [...]

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:54:03 +0000

Robin, why not restrict comment length using something like Greg's Comment Length Limiter? Long comments are almost invariably poorly thought through, so maybe this would result in better comments.