Soylent

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linenfort
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Soylent

Post by linenfort »

Has anyone tried it?

I think it's probably a bad idea for the long term, plus I enjoy cooking & eating food far too much to have soylent all the time.
Still, I can't resist trying it to see what it's like and to replace a meal here and there.

Don't know what it is? You will, soon.

Anyone?
Rupert
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Re: Soylent

Post by Rupert »

I prefer Soylent Green. :twisted:
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linenfort
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Re: Soylent

Post by linenfort »

Rupert wrote:I prefer Soylent Green. :twisted:
That *is* the namesake, but I think this is a tad better. :wink:
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Re: Soylent

Post by chaz »

Rupert wrote:I prefer Soylent Green. :twisted:
That's what I thought the OP had in mind. :)
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Re: Soylent

Post by nisiprius »

chaz wrote:
Rupert wrote:I prefer Soylent Green. :twisted:
That's what I thought the OP had in mind. :)
Good grief. It's for real: Soylent (food substitute)
Last edited by nisiprius on Mon May 12, 2014 5:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Soylent

Post by Lake Living »

I think Rhinehart could have come up with a better name.......one with fewer connotations.
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Re: Soylent

Post by billern »

I have tried some DIY with fairly good results for myself. Others who tried my mix objected to the texture.

I'm looking forward to trying the official Soylent 1.0 from the company that has been developing it over the last year. I hear that taste/texture is much improved in their final version. They had some production/shipping issues but they are finally in the process of fulfilling pre-orders. I hope that means I will not have to wait much longer.
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Re: Soylent

Post by chaz »

nisiprius wrote:
chaz wrote:
Rupert wrote:I prefer Soylent Green. :twisted:
That's what I thought the OP had in mind. :)
Good grief. It's for real: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_(food_substitute)
Nisi, I prefer the movie, but thanks for your post.
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Re: Soylent

Post by Raymond »

You mean it's *not* people? :twisted:

Sounds interesting.
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Re: Soylent

Post by MoneyClip »

Is it better with red or white wine?
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Re: Soylent

Post by YttriumNitrate »

Lake Living wrote:I think Rhinehart could have come up with a better name.......one with fewer connotations.
Fewer connotations = Less free advertising

If the product was called Nutrameal, and someone posted a thread in the Bogleheads forum called "Nutrameal" would you have clicked on it? I wouldn't have.
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Re: Soylent

Post by nisiprius »

Well, it certainly is the extreme of what Michael Pollan calls "nutritionism"--the application of reductionist thinking to food.

Does anyone know the origin of the "entire meal in one pill" meme? It has faded over time, but in the 1950s it was a recurrent semi-joke reference. People believed that in the future people would take a single pill that would provide all the nutrition of a meal. A crazy idea, because a simple calculation shows that even if the pill were made entirely of the most calorie-dense foodstuff, fat, it would require over 60 grams to supply 600 calories, which would make a pill that would be pretty dangerous to swallow. It is the subject of a sort of joke in, IIRC, the rather bad 1950s SF movie "Conquest of Space." But it did not originate there. It was referenced in a story, "The New Food," by Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock, in his 1910 book Literary Lapses. The scene is a Christmas dinner, with "a bucket of hot water before the radiant mother, and at the head of the board the Christmas dinner of the happy home, warmly covered by a thimble and resting on a poker chip." The baby grabs and swallows the pill: "Gustavus Adolphus exploded into fragments! And when they gathered the little corpse together, the baby lips were parted in a lingering smile that could only be worn by a child who had eaten thirteen Christmas dinners."

Googling on the "Professor Plumb of the University of Chicago" mentioned by Leacock brings up only references to the Leacock story, so he does not seem to be real.
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Re: Soylent

Post by livesoft »

I've been feeding my dog the exact same kibble for about 4 years now and he seems to be happy, vibrant, and healthy. So it is technically possible to have food in a kibble pill.

Nevertheless, the OP's soylent does not seem to be less expensive than "real" food.
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Re: Soylent

Post by srh12 »

There is a nice article on it in the May 12th issue of the New Yorker. Sounds interesting and the creator has been living on it almost exclusively for a year--but you can get away with a lot when you are 25.
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Re: Soylent

Post by nervousnovice »

we only do whole, natural state foods in our house, preferably organic and nothing in a box or a bag. if i want chips, i make them. if i want ice cream, i make it. same for our dogs.
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Re: Soylent

Post by jmndu99 »

Rupert wrote:I prefer Soylent Green. :twisted:

You are showing your age friend
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Re: Soylent

Post by SSSS »

I've been doing a $2/day DIY recipe for several months now & I couldn't be happier with it. I only eat traditional food once every 3-4 days.
Nevertheless, the OP's soylent does not seem to be less expensive than "real" food.
The official product is ridiculously expensive, but it's only $2-$3 if you buy ingredients in bulk and mix it yourself.
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Re: Soylent

Post by chaz »

jmndu99 wrote:
Rupert wrote:I prefer Soylent Green. :twisted:

You are showing your age friend
Nothing wrong with that. :)
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Re: Soylent

Post by pennstater2005 »

I'm trying to picture how the commercial (sales pitch) for Soylent would go. Any ideas? Maybe some smiling kids with a soylent mustache?
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SSSS
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Re: Soylent

Post by SSSS »

pennstater2005 wrote:I'm trying to picture how the commercial (sales pitch) for Soylent would go. Any ideas? Maybe some smiling kids with a soylent mustache?
There's a video on the front page of http://soylent.me/
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Re: Soylent

Post by pennstater2005 »

SSSS wrote:
pennstater2005 wrote:I'm trying to picture how the commercial (sales pitch) for Soylent would go. Any ideas? Maybe some smiling kids with a soylent mustache?
There's a video on the front page of http://soylent.me/
Not what I was picturing. A little creepy.
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Re: Soylent

Post by SSSS »

pennstater2005 wrote:
SSSS wrote:
pennstater2005 wrote:I'm trying to picture how the commercial (sales pitch) for Soylent would go. Any ideas? Maybe some smiling kids with a soylent mustache?
There's a video on the front page of http://soylent.me/
Not what I was picturing. A little creepy.
Here's the old video that was on the site until a week or two ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSkOVkgd8hY
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Re: Soylent

Post by linenfort »

Thank you billern, srh12, SSSS, et al.

As for the name, I bet Rhinehart figured it would be nicknamed Soylent green anyway, so he embraced it. :-)
Looking forward to trying it once in a while, and eventually DIY. Steak and edamame tonight, though.
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Re: Soylent

Post by nisiprius »

I know what was nagging at me. MPF (Multi-Purpose Food). Whatever happened to MPF? Soylent sounds a lot like MPF.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Clinton led me to:

http://mealsformillions.org
IIn 1944, Clinton asked Dr. Henry Borsook, a Cal Tech biochemist, to develop a food supplement that would provide proper nutritional values while costing no more than five cents per meal. Clinton offered $5,000 of his own money to finance the research. In less than one year, Dr. Borsook met the challenge and brought forth Multi-Purpose Food (MPF), a high-protein food supplement that could be made for just three cents per meal....
$0.03/meal in 1944 = $0.40 in 2014, so it sounds a lot cheaper than Soylent. It is not clear why "The final shipment of MPF was sent" in 1979.
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Re: Soylent

Post by nisiprius »

So when do they start doctoring up Soylent by adding (say) Worcestershire sauce, or hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or lemon and ginger, or carob and honey?
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Re: Soylent

Post by pennstater2005 »

nisiprius wrote:So when do they start doctoring up Soylent by adding (say) Worcestershire sauce, or hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or lemon and ginger, or carob and honey?
Now you're just making me hungry :happy
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Re: Soylent

Post by linenfort »

nisiprius wrote:So when do they start doctoring up Soylent by adding (say) Worcestershire sauce, or hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or lemon and ginger, or carob and honey?
There are already DIY mixes. I think most people will cook when they want to cook, and just blend some soylent when they don't feel like cooking or cleaning.
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Re: Soylent

Post by daggerboard »

I read in a Rhinehart interview that starting to use Soylent typical results in a week or so of fairly impressive gas & flatulence, so he recommends staying home that first week.

Otherwise I would try it :)
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Re: Soylent

Post by protagonist »

If you can afford a laptop to do this, why not just eat food?

Food is delicious. I just had some.
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Re: Soylent

Post by linenfort »

Does anyone know the origin of the "entire meal in one pill" meme?
That paragraph was a fun read, Nisi, but this is a powder. Therefore, you're setting up a Soy man argument. :wink:
(Truth be told, there is very little soy in soylent. I'm not sure about lentils).
protagonist wrote:If you can afford a laptop to do this, why not just eat food?
Probably a rhetorical question, but just in case: You haven't read up on soylent. Easier for you to read the New Yorker article or the official site than for me to explain.
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Re: Soylent

Post by nisiprius »

daggerboard wrote:I read in a Rhinehart interview that starting to use Soylent typical results in a week or so of fairly impressive gas & flatulence, so he recommends staying home that first week...
Soylent but deadly.
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Re: Soylent

Post by protagonist »

linenfort wrote:
protagonist wrote:If you can afford a laptop to do this, why not just eat food?
Probably a rhetorical question, but just in case: You haven't read up on soylent. Easier for you to read the New Yorker article or the official site than for me to explain.
I did read about it a while ago, linenfort, though I don't recall all the details. Perhaps if the world's resources are completely depleted (ok, by people like me who eat food) it will be the only alternative. But from the little I read, I see no reason that anybody who has access to food would want soylent. I stick to my initial statement. Even if soylent proves to be just as good for you as food (and it would take decades of following soylent-only consumers to determine that- until then you are just a lab rat) , food is just more fun.

That said, if it could be easily produced cheaply enough (meaning pennies per meal), it could go a long way towards eliminating famine and starvation. For a person who is starving, soylent would definitely be fun.

(I think Ramen noodles, last I checked, went for about 12.5 cents per meal). Nasty for you but probably tastier than soylent, and at least you know their effect long-term on your body.
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Re: Soylent

Post by SSSS »

protagonist wrote:If you can afford a laptop to do this, why not just eat food?
What do you propose for people who hate cooking but can't financially justify eating at restaurants every day?
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Re: Soylent

Post by linenfort »

protagonist wrote:I did read about it a while ago, linenfort, though I don't recall all the details. Perhaps if the world's resources are completely depleted (ok, by people like me who eat food) it will be the only alternative. But from the little I read, I see no reason that anybody who has access to food would want soylent. I stick to my initial statement. Even if soylent proves to be just as good for you as food (and it would take decades of following soylent-only consumers to determine that- until then you are just a lab rat) , food is just more fun.
I have no disagreement with any of the above. I refer you to my original post at the top.
And of course, the creators came up with it to save time, and not for fun.
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Re: Soylent

Post by protagonist »

linenfort wrote:
protagonist wrote:I did read about it a while ago, linenfort, though I don't recall all the details. Perhaps if the world's resources are completely depleted (ok, by people like me who eat food) it will be the only alternative. But from the little I read, I see no reason that anybody who has access to food would want soylent. I stick to my initial statement. Even if soylent proves to be just as good for you as food (and it would take decades of following soylent-only consumers to determine that- until then you are just a lab rat) , food is just more fun.
I have no disagreement with any of the above. I refer you to my original post at the top.
And of course, the creators came up with it to save time, and not for fun.
I know. But I have time. And if I want to avoid cooking and cleaning, I'd rather go out to eat. Though I never tried soylent, I'd be hard-pressed to turn down a milkshake or a good slice of pizza for soylent. Both are within 5 minutes walking distance. Call me old-fashioned.
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Re: Soylent

Post by moneyman11 »

protagonist wrote:
linenfort wrote:
protagonist wrote:I did read about it a while ago, linenfort, though I don't recall all the details. Perhaps if the world's resources are completely depleted (ok, by people like me who eat food) it will be the only alternative. But from the little I read, I see no reason that anybody who has access to food would want soylent. I stick to my initial statement. Even if soylent proves to be just as good for you as food (and it would take decades of following soylent-only consumers to determine that- until then you are just a lab rat) , food is just more fun.
I have no disagreement with any of the above. I refer you to my original post at the top.
And of course, the creators came up with it to save time, and not for fun.
I know. But I have time. And if I want to avoid cooking and cleaning, I'd rather go out to eat. Though I never tried soylent, I'd be hard-pressed to turn down a milkshake or a good slice of pizza for soylent. Both are within 5 minutes walking distance.

Then it's not for you ... just move on.

Every discussion of Soylent on every site it's been mentioned contains this "why not just eat food" straw man argument.
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Re: Soylent

Post by protagonist »

I know. But I have time. And if I want to avoid cooking and cleaning, I'd rather go out to eat. Though I never tried soylent, I'd be hard-pressed to turn down a milkshake or a good slice of pizza for soylent. Both are within 5 minutes walking distance.
moneyman11 wrote:Then it's not for you ... just move on.
Every discussion of Soylent on every site it's been mentioned contains this "why not just eat food" straw man argument.
And what is the other argument? I'm at a loss. I'm not here to argue, nor am I trying to be difficult, and I apologize if I came off as snarky. Not my intent. I just don't get it, and I am trying to understand the appeal.
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Re: Soylent

Post by moneyman11 »

protagonist wrote:
And what is the other argument? I'm at a loss. I'm not here to argue, nor am I trying to be difficult, and I apologize if I came off as snarky. Not my intent. I just don't get it, and I am trying to understand the appeal.
Rapid, compact delivery of dense nutrition for Emergencies, disasters, famines, or for people with conditions or undergoing treatments that temporarily restrict their diets or ability to eat or digest "real" food.

Or simply an occasional convenient alternative for people that don't think or live their lives exactly like you.
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Re: Soylent

Post by protagonist »

protagonist wrote:
And what is the other argument? I'm at a loss. I'm not here to argue, nor am I trying to be difficult, and I apologize if I came off as snarky. Not my intent. I just don't get it, and I am trying to understand the appeal.
moneyman11 wrote:Rapid, compact delivery of dense nutrition for Emergencies, disasters, famines.
This I understand (as I mentioned above). It would have to be made much more economical first.
moneyman11 wrote:Or simply an occasional convenient alternative for people that don't think or live their lives exactly like you.
Ouch.
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Re: Soylent

Post by linenfort »

moneyman11 wrote:Every discussion of Soylent on every site it's been mentioned contains this "why not just eat food" straw man argument.
Not only that, but there's something funny about this forum. At the risk of getting a yellow card, allow me this quick digression:

It's not the end of the world, but I noticed that no matter what the topic is, most people chime in with their own preferences and often -- I'm not talking about you, protagonist -- often without having read the thread. You can tell they have not even read the OP sometimes.
When it's a financial topic, this is apparent because the same answer comes up repeatedly. In consumer or behavioral issues, it gets a little nutty.

For example, years ago, someone asked where he could buy cheap breakfast cereal in bulk. Typical answers were:
"I make a veggie scramble. It's more nutritious {than your junky cereal}."
and
"I eat dry cereal. I don't do milk or soy."
(Lord knows why these answers stick in my mind).

Sometimes personal tidbits are interesting, but a lot responses seem to express this sentiment: "Not for me, pal. You've been hustled. Let me tell you why I am wonderful.
... more about me and my daily habits....
"
:D
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Re: Soylent

Post by linenfort »

nisiprius wrote:
daggerboard wrote:I read in a Rhinehart interview that starting to use Soylent typical results in a week or so of fairly impressive gas & flatulence, so he recommends staying home that first week...
Soylent but deadly.
LOL!
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Re: Soylent

Post by Alex Frakt »

SSSS wrote:
protagonist wrote:If you can afford a laptop to do this, why not just eat food?
What do you propose for people who hate cooking but can't financially justify eating at restaurants every day?
I'm not sure if this is a serious question. Half of the supermarket is devoted to foods that can be eaten as is or with less than 3 minutes of prep time (washing, peeling or microwaving).
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Re: Soylent

Post by SSSS »

linenfort wrote:It's not the end of the world, but I noticed that no matter what the topic is, most people chime in with their own preferences and often

...

Sometimes personal tidbits are interesting, but a lot responses seem to express this sentiment: "Not for me, pal. You've been hustled. Let me tell you why I am wonderful."

moneyman11 wrote:Or simply an occasional convenient alternative for people that don't think or live their lives exactly like you.


Excellent posts.

Different people are different.

Some people don't like cooking.

Some people don't like doing dishes.

Some people don't like keeping perishable food at home.

Some people don't like going to the grocery store regularly.

Some people want to maintain a nutritionally complete diet, but don't want to have to combine 37 different foods to accomplish it, most of which they don't even like.

Some people would rather chug a complete, nutritious, reasonably well-tasting meal in 30 seconds rather than spending half an hour chewing food they don't even like.

Some people can't concoct a good diet using foods they actually like, and would rather just take a quick drink rather than force-feeding themselves foods that they hate.

Some people would rather spend $2 or $3 per day rather than $20 or more.

Other people may not be exactly the same as you, but that doesn't make you better than them.
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Re: Soylent

Post by protagonist »

linenfort wrote:
moneyman11 wrote:Every discussion of Soylent on every site it's been mentioned contains this "why not just eat food" straw man argument.
Not only that, but there's something funny about this forum. At the risk of getting a yellow card, allow me this quick digression:

It's not the end of the world, but I noticed that no matter what the topic is, most people chime in with their own preferences and often -- I'm not talking about you, protagonist -- often without having read the thread. You can tell they have not even read the OP sometimes.
When it's a financial topic, this is apparent because the same answer comes up repeatedly. In consumer or behavioral issues, it gets a little nutty.

For example, years ago, someone asked where he could buy cheap breakfast cereal in bulk. Typical answers were:
"I make a veggie scramble. It's more nutritious {than your junky cereal}."
and
"I eat dry cereal. I don't do milk or soy."
(Lord knows why these answers stick in my mind).

Sometimes personal tidbits are interesting, but a lot responses seem to express this sentiment: "Not for me, pal. You've been hustled. Let me tell you why I am wonderful.
... more about me and my daily habits....
"
:D
Point well taken. I agree, nobody really cares about one's petty personal choices.
I'm sorry if I came off that way. Like I said, it was not my intent. I was just trying to understand the attraction of soylent (which is lost on me), not to belittle your choices, which, I agree, are as valid as mine.
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Re: Soylent

Post by linenfort »

For the creators of Soylent, the attraction was to something that they could (1) create cheaply and (2) just consume and get back to their scientific work.
They didn't want to spend time cooking and cleaning (nor even eating- knife and fork, etc), but they were on a tight budget.
I'm just curious about it.
But again, protagonist, the above paragraph is not directed at you personally.


(Edited for missing prepositions)
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Re: Soylent

Post by moneyman11 »

protagonist wrote:
moneyman11 wrote:Rapid, compact delivery of dense nutrition for Emergencies, disasters, famines.
This I understand (as I mentioned above). It would have to be made much more economical first.
Of course .... every new "technology" begins as a new, expensive, niche product that many can't believe will ever be affordable or even needed by many people.

"Why would I want to carry around this huge, brick-sized, incredibly expensive cellular phone around with me, when this phone in my house works just fine and there is a pay phone on every corner!?"

Luckily the open-minded and innovative don't listen to them.
Last edited by moneyman11 on Tue May 13, 2014 12:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Soylent

Post by Alex Frakt »

I had a roommate in college who said that he wished he had a flap on his stomach he could just shove generic food into occasionally and be done with it. I think I'll send him an e-mail and see if he's switched to soylent. I have to say this attitutde mystifies me because I consider eating good food to be one of life's great pleasures. I'm not voluntarily switching to food paste no matter the inefficiencies of old-fashioned (bricks and mortar?) food.
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Re: Soylent

Post by moneyman11 »

Some people live to eat, some people eat to live.

But if you are stuck on this idea of Soylent (or alternatives like it) being an everyday, or even frequent, choice over "real food" ... like I said, you are creating a straw man that is blinding you to its real possibilities.
Alex Frakt
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Re: Soylent

Post by Alex Frakt »

moneyman11 wrote:
protagonist wrote:
And what is the other argument? I'm at a loss. I'm not here to argue, nor am I trying to be difficult, and I apologize if I came off as snarky. Not my intent. I just don't get it, and I am trying to understand the appeal.
Rapid, compact delivery of dense nutrition for Emergencies, disasters, famines...
These already exist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapeuti ... eutic_Food.
moneyman11
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Re: Soylent

Post by moneyman11 »

Alex Frakt wrote:
moneyman11 wrote:
protagonist wrote:
And what is the other argument? I'm at a loss. I'm not here to argue, nor am I trying to be difficult, and I apologize if I came off as snarky. Not my intent. I just don't get it, and I am trying to understand the appeal.
Rapid, compact delivery of dense nutrition for Emergencies, disasters, famines...
These already exist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapeuti ... eutic_Food.
Of course, but research and development of something better continues ... that's how we progress.

How much have you read about Soylent and technologies like it, Alex?

To compare it to something like "Ensure" is pretty laughable.
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