A few weeks ago I got sick of being constantly sore after exercise and I bought some protein powder from some nice french chaps in Kings Cross. I’d always thought of it as a massive con, but miraculously I felt fine the next day after an epic gym session, so I kept going, and I’ve felt great after everything I’ve done since.

Whilst this sounds like a ringing endorsement of the wonders of nutritional supplements, really it is a combined shriek of frustration and an a big ah-ha moment. It all leaves me thinking “well if this isn’t a con, then what else isn’t a con too?” I’ve had a few suggestions, with “Jesus” being the most worrying ;) (If that’s all real then I’m stuffed!)

We talked about this recently at the Sydney Less Wrong meetup, and one guy admitted to discovering that he’d been tying his shoelaces wrong all his life. We didn’t manage to work out a way to find out how to tell if your brain is lying to you about non-cons and things that you are telling yourself that you are doing right, but are really doing wrong. I’m starting to really distrust my brain.

What else isn’t a con? Any suggestions? I don’t want to miss out any more on the good stuff.