This could have been a good article. Unfortunately, Eliezer falls into the same trap as Robert by implicitly making up his own model (the "metabolic privilege model") which should explain "everything".
Whereas some argue that the "non-responders" are lacking willpower, Eliezer argues that they are just metabolically disprivileged. Thus, he explains why the rest does not respond.
But what does it mean to be "metabolically disprivileged"? Is our metabolic system really such a static system?
In science, every model simplifies. Take a look at physics: Quantum Mechanics & Classical Physics do not explain each other yet they aren't wrong. Roberts model simplifies and might be wrong, but it seems to fit better than the "metabolic privilege model" which does not explain anything. He just put a black box called "metabolic privilege" in the room which explains the problem away.
This could have been a good article. Unfortunately, Eliezer falls into the same trap as Robert by implicitly making up his own model (the "metabolic privilege model") which should explain "everything". Whereas some argue that the "non-responders" are lacking willpower, Eliezer argues that they are just metabolically disprivileged. Thus, he explains why the rest does not respond.
But what does it mean to be "metabolically disprivileged"? Is our metabolic system really such a static system?
In science, every model simplifies. Take a look at physics: Quantum Mechanics & Classical Physics do not explain each other yet they aren't wrong. Roberts model simplifies and might be wrong, but it seems to fit better than the "metabolic privilege model" which does not explain anything. He just put a black box called "metabolic privilege" in the room which explains the problem away.