A few days ago I blogged about a local celebrity, Naveena Shine, a "breatharian" who has been conducting an "experiment," to try and live on virtually no food, only water and tea (with a splash of milk.) Today, after 47 days, she has decided to end her fast. She has lost about 20% of her body weight, going from 159 to 126 pounds. She is quitting her "experiment" in part because she's "run out of money," and, in part, because of the "public reaction." She was disappointed that she only received $425 through her website to defray costs (I applaud people for not contributing.).
Why? In what sense is this an experiment? What she demonstrated is that if you stop eating you lose weight. Surprise. I will say this, she has mastered the art of capturing public attention (including mine). She has been covered by local television, newspapers and radio. I think this is an experiment in human gullibility. We humans, love human drama. We love train wrecks. Human spectacle. I remember channel-surfing some years ago and stumbling on the intro to the Jerry Springer show. It was something like "Presenting the worst show on television! NOW celebrating it's 13TH YEAR!"
So, really, why? There is a clue in this Seattle Times article, "Eventually, says Shine, "She’ll be hitting the road." Ah, now I get it. I don't have to fill in the gaps here for discerning Do Ya Think? blog readers. She's needs to make a living too. After all, we all gotta eat.
Why? In what sense is this an experiment? What she demonstrated is that if you stop eating you lose weight. Surprise. I will say this, she has mastered the art of capturing public attention (including mine). She has been covered by local television, newspapers and radio. I think this is an experiment in human gullibility. We humans, love human drama. We love train wrecks. Human spectacle. I remember channel-surfing some years ago and stumbling on the intro to the Jerry Springer show. It was something like "Presenting the worst show on television! NOW celebrating it's 13TH YEAR!"
So, really, why? There is a clue in this Seattle Times article, "Eventually, says Shine, "She’ll be hitting the road." Ah, now I get it. I don't have to fill in the gaps here for discerning Do Ya Think? blog readers. She's needs to make a living too. After all, we all gotta eat.
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