Knowledge Workers Are Dumber Than Cavemen

Knowledge Workers Are Dumber Than Cavemen

It’s a conceit of the modern age to think we are smarter than cavemen:

  • We have smartphones and the internet. Cavemen had rocks and sticks.
  • We have modern medicine. Cavemen had leeches.
  • We can fly across a continent in a jet. Cavemen sat around a fire.
  • We have home food delivery and Netflix. Cavemen killed each other for food and scribbled on cave walls.
  • We are alive. If cavemen were so smart, then why are they all dead?

But if knowledge workers are so smart, then why we are more obese and less fit than a caveman?

Modern knowledge sounds new and better, but if you look closely, a lot of so-called “technology” is really a second-rate substitute for nature and common sense.

Consider the modern wisdom about health and fitness:

  • You need to “hydrate”. You can even buy bluetooth-enable water bottles with an app that periodically reminds you to “hydrate”.
  • Your parents used to call this “drink some water or you’ll get thirsty”.


  • You have to go to a special place called a “gym” to get fit. Your personal trainer will show you had to do “HIIT”.
  • Back when you were a kid it was called “playing tag” or “dodge ball”.


  • You need health insurance and expensive drugs to save you from “lifestyle” diseases (diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, stroke, etc).
  • Being sedentary is a leading cause of death. The simplest and cheapest Rx? Get off your ass!


  • You can attend instructor-led classes at a “box” to do “Crossfit”.
  • Back when you were a kid it was called “go play outdoors with your friends”.


  • You need to order “supplements” from Amazon to lose weight and be healthy.
  • Your grandparents just ate vegetables and took cod liver oil.


  • You need special “red lights” and Vitamin D to survive the winter.
  • Your mom used to tell you to “go play outside in the sun”.


  • You need “HEPA” air filters and “negative ion-generators”.
  • Your mom used to tell you to “go outside and get some fresh air”.


  • You need “organic” food from the farmer’s market.
  • Your grandma called this a “garden”.


  • You are told “sitting is the new smoking”.
  • Nobody sits around on the farm, the ranch, or at the factory.


  • A “strongman” will coach you on special techniques like the “farmer’s carry”.
  • A real farmer will just pick up something heavy and just carry it.


  • You need to eat “IIFYM” or “40–30–30” or some other special diet.
  • Back in the day, everyone knew “you are what you eat”.


  • You need an electric car, an electric bike, or an electric scooter.
  • Back in the day, everyone took the bus, rode their bike, or had roller-skates.


  • You need “one weird trick” to get fit and healthy.
  • Health and fitness used to be a matter of common sense, and didn’t require “secret” knowledge from “experts”.
No alt text provided for this image

Please don’t take what I am saying the wrong way.

I am not a luddite or anti-progress or anti-science. I am not saying we need to go back to the “good old days”.

What I am saying is that a lot of so-called “technologies” are poor substitutes (prosthetics) for what is freely available in nature (including common sense).

  • The simple truth is, cavemen (and women) didn’t need to know what a “gym” or “diet” was.
  • The simple truth is, if you go play outside with your friends, you can eat almost anything you want.
  • The simple truth is, if you eat all your vegetables you’ll grow up to be and strong.
No alt text provided for this image

Originally published at https://thehealthyexec.com on June 1, 2019.


要查看或添加评论,请登录

Jeff P.的更多文章

  • Weak Mind = Weak Body (and other aphorisms)

    Weak Mind = Weak Body (and other aphorisms)

    Health is head game. Your body can’t go where your mind won’t take it.

  • Optimizing Executive Teams

    Optimizing Executive Teams

    Reducing Key Man Risk and Increasing Productivity Organizational performance is synonymous with chief executive…

  • I Succeeded In Business But Failed At Health

    I Succeeded In Business But Failed At Health

    I built a successful business but I failed at being healthy. It was like building a beautiful house on a crumbling…

  • Transforming Your Health: Simple! (But Not Easy)

    Transforming Your Health: Simple! (But Not Easy)

    Here are the Top 15 posts from my Healthy Executive system as voted by my clients and readers. They constitutes almost…

  • New Years Resolutions Made Me Fat & Tired

    New Years Resolutions Made Me Fat & Tired

    I hate seeing New Year’s Resolutions lists at the end of the year. Especially those claiming proprietary “new” health…

  • Sleep and Your Career

    Sleep and Your Career

    Business executives and business owners know the importance of sleep. 43% of us say we don’t get enough sleep at least…

  • How To Measure and Improve Your Cardiovascular Health

    How To Measure and Improve Your Cardiovascular Health

    I hate going to hospitals and doctors. Maybe its because being around sick people is a reminder of my own mortality.

  • CEO Advisor: Top Reason Why Not, #1 Insight, #1 Regret, Best ROI

    CEO Advisor: Top Reason Why Not, #1 Insight, #1 Regret, Best ROI

    CEOs understand that executive and employee productivity are impacted by health and fitness. Recently I data-mined…

  • Love Your Family? Then HIIT Them!

    Love Your Family? Then HIIT Them!

    When my family was young I worked diligently to provide for their needs. I provided them a life of comfort.

    2 条评论
  • Why Strength Matters

    Why Strength Matters

    Could you save a child from plunging to death by climbing 4 stories in 30 seconds? As men, its our nature to protect…

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了