Essential oils. Homeopathy. Chiropractic. Reiki. Juice cleanses. Perineum sunning. Internet accelerator software. Iridology. Faith healing. Organic food. Oil pulling. Gold plated digital audio cables.
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Everything marketed audiophiles, not only gold plated cables, but also anything that uses vacuum tubes because "they sound better"
I was buying a toslink cable recently and I shit you not, there was a gold plated optical cable...
Fucking Toslink: one round optical fiber in the middle, but it plugs in in only one position out of four, and you can't feel which way the female connector is. EU should fine the assholes responsible.
Hi-resolution audio, especially for streaming. The general idea is that listening to digital audio files that have a greater bit depth and sample rate than CD (24-bit/192Khz vs 16-bit/44.1 KHz) translates to better-sounding audio, but in practice that isn't the case.
For a detailed breakdown as to why, there's a great explanation here. But in summary, the format for CDs was so chosen because it covers enough depth and range to cover the full spectrum of human hearing.
So while "hi-res" audio does contain a lot more information (which, incidentally, means it uses up significantly more data/storage space and costs more money), our ears aren't capable of hearing it in the first place. Certain people may try to argue otherwise based on their own subjective experience, but to that I say "the placebo effect is a helluva drug."
Conversely low res audio clearly sounds like trash.
Up to a certain point, yes. >192k AAC / OGG / Opus sounds just as good as FLAC in a blind test, though. Even with good equipment.
Majority of the "AI inside" software and solutions. It's in a bubble and everyone is throwing crap to a wall hoping it sticks.
"AI" is the new "blockchain". It's a solution looking for a solid problem to tackle, with some niche applications
I mean, at least Ai has SOME useful applications, the blockchain was just wasting energy for some numbers.
My research was literally on AI back in college. Most AI solutions are just basic algorithms and don't use real AI solutions. There's a huge difference.
Cleanses. You don't need a cleanse if you have a liver and kidneys, and if you don't you need dialysis.
Anything sold as a "detox"
Extra expensive digital hifi cables.
Blue light filter on glasses. When I got my glasses, the lady said they come with blue light filter for free, and I said, βI donβt want that, my job requires that I see colors accurately, so I canβt have any sort of color filter.β She said donβt worry, it doesnβt filter any colors. Ok, then what the fuck is it exactly?
Anything sold by Gwyneth Paltrow in her online shop, which I will not name here so as not to promote it. In the best case, goods sold there will be harmless and entirely useless. In the worst case, they will cause serious harm.
Anti virus software. To protect your computer let's constantly run this software with root privileges!
The core slikt of anti aging creams and other hydration products.
I can get like, one. But god damned, my wife has so many different products They can't all possibly be needed
Dietary advice based on the food pyramid/MyPlate. Before the late '70s, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and mental illnesses were all rare in the general population.
We need to be eating fewer carbohydrates, not basing our diets around them. We need to be getting most of our calories from fat, not demonising it.
Thankfully, we have people like Dr. Ken Berry, Dr. Chris Palmer, Dr. Anthony Chaffee, Dr. Georgia Ede, Dr. Shawn Baker, Dr. Paul Mason, Dr. Tony Hampton, Dr. Jason Fung, and others spreading this message.
Trickle down economics
If you run a website: Paid SSL/TLS certificates. Free ones like Let's Encrypt and ZeroSSL are just as good, and can be automatically renewed.
Upward mobility
Chiropractic anything. John Oliver covered it quite well.
Homeopathic remedies
Not all, but a lot of coaches. Like the 23-year old just out of school "executive coach", or the "lifestyle coaches", "energetic coaches" etc.
I was going to say something, till I realized you didn't mean sports coaches
Carry on
CBD oil. I bought some about 5 years ago and it did nothing but grease up my tongue
Software/game DRM/anticheat (as a service/product) that involves code obfuscation and/or kernel driver.
the vast majority of skincare products.
Gamer glasses
Organic food versus GMOs. I think big farma is in on the organic food prices and put false narratives about the dangers of gmo foods.
They're also not even the same category. Organic vs. non was about what kinds of chemicals amwere allowed to be added. Herbicides, pesticides, that kind of thing. GMOs are about whether a certain technology was used to genetically engineer the plants (artificial selection vs. the techniques of molecular biology). But they get all mixed up together as a result of marketing and a public that does not receive information any other way.
There are dangers with GMOs but they're about farming sustainability and corporate power, particularly the use of IP law. The food itself, so far, is perfectly safe.
Also, organic food is not necessarily safer. You can still put fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides on organic crops, you're just restricted to the use of certain kinds. You still need to wash organic produce to get rid of potential residue.
IPhone.
Kineseo Tape