Andrew Belaveshkin MD PhD

Andrew Belaveshkin MD PhD MD PhD
Lifestyle doctor and author
Belaveshkin.com

Walking past the beautiful Bank of England building one day, I was reminded of a curious principle named after Charles G...
20/10/2024

Walking past the beautiful Bank of England building one day, I was reminded of a curious principle named after Charles Goodhart, a former advisor to the Bank of England. In 1975, he formulated a rule now known as Goodhart's Law: "Any observed statistical regularity tends to break down once pressure is applied to it for control purposes." In essence, when we set a target to achieve a certain metric, the old patterns that once made that metric meaningful stop working. Simply put, "when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."

Epigenetic age: When we replace hard endpoints in research with biomarkers, we risk making critical errors. For example, epigenetic age can be reduced by taking vitamin D, growth hormone, folate (B9), B12, and consuming certain foods (like poultry). However, none of these interventions reduce mortality or extend lifespan.

The Vitamin D paradox: High levels of vitamin D in the blood are strongly linked to lower risks of various diseases—cancer, autoimmune disorders, obesity, and diabetes—according to numerous studies. The quality of this research is beyond doubt. However, taking vitamin D supplements above normal levels proves almost useless. Why? Vitamin D levels are a reflection of how much time someone spends outdoors, which correlates with being more physically active, socially engaged, and overall healthier (versus being stuck indoors). Plus, there are other compounds produced under sunlight that supplements can't replace (more than a dozen, from nitric oxide to proopiomelanocortin). This doesn’t just apply to vitamin D, but to many other markers, from homocysteine to zinc.

Weight loss. Many people make weight reduction their primary goal, tracking progress solely by the number on the scale. This often leads to unhealthy practices like extreme diets or loss of muscle mass instead of fat. In the end, the pursuit of their goal leads to burnout and eventual weight gain. The more they lose, the closer they get to failure.

It’s like trying to evaluate a car’s condition based solely on mileage (which can easily be tampered with), assessing love by the number of gifts exchanged, or judging children based on their grades. Goodhart’s Law applies to society as well. If businesses are rewarded based on the weight of their production, products become heavier. If transportation companies are judged by kilometers traveled, routes become more complicated. If education is measured by test scores, the entire system bends toward teaching to the test.

When company rankings or performance metrics become the focus, efforts shift toward manipulating those numbers at any cost. In some cases, countries—like Belarus—falsify economic data or infant mortality rates just to climb higher in UN rankings. The same is true for academic metrics: when citations become the benchmark, the quality of research declines, and the number of low-quality papers skyrockets.

Metrics are useful, but they should guide us, not be our ultimate goals. It's always important to focus on real, meaningful outcomes. When setting goals or evaluating progress, it's crucial to keep Goodhart’s Law in mind, so we don’t lose sight of what really matters.

You are not the consumer of information, information is consuming your attention. Distraction from phone use is responsi...
18/10/2024

You are not the consumer of information, information is consuming your attention. Distraction from phone use is responsible for 14% of all injury-related car crashes and 8% of all fatal accidents. Using a mobile phone while driving forces drivers to focus on an additional task, impairing their ability to drive safely. Drivers who text while driving are eight times more likely to be involved in a crash. This cognitive distraction increases the risk of accidents, reduces hazard detection, and leads to poor situational awareness.

😬Mobile distractions result in drivers missing up to 50% of the information in their driving environment. Research shows that drivers using cell phones have slower reaction times than those impaired by alcohol. Using a smartphone for social networking – slows reaction time by 37.60%. Texting – slows reaction time by 37.40%. Alcohol – slows reaction time by 10-30%. Hands-free mobile phone conversation – slows reaction time by 26.50%

🫣Listening to someone on the other end of a phone call reduces brain activity in areas responsible for driving by 37%. When holding a phone for conversation, reaction times slow by around 50%, compared to 26% slower with hands-free devices.

The risk of using a phone while driving can indeed be compared to drunk driving. Casual phone conversations are comparable to mild intoxication (1-2 beers). Texting or using social media is similar to moderate intoxication (3-4 beers). Watching short videos, such as TikToks or Reels, is equivalent to being heavily intoxicated (5+ beers), drastically reducing attention and increasing reaction times.

📴It’s crucial to remember this for your own safety and to be more cautious around drivers with phones in their hands—treat them as if they were drunk and adjust your driving accordingly.

📖A comparison of the cell phone driver and the drunk driver Hum Factors 2006 Summer;48(2):381-91.
A comparison of the effect of mobile phone use and alcohol consumption on driving simulation performance Traffic Inj Prev 2012;13(6):566-74.

You are not the consumer of information, information is consuming your attention. Distraction from phone use is responsi...
18/10/2024

You are not the consumer of information, information is consuming your attention. Distraction from phone use is responsible for 14% of all injury-related car crashes and 8% of all fatal accidents. Using a mobile phone while driving forces drivers to focus on an additional task, impairing their ability to drive safely. Drivers who text while driving are eight times more likely to be involved in a crash. This cognitive distraction increases the risk of accidents, reduces hazard detection, and leads to poor situational awareness.

Mobile distractions result in drivers missing up to 50% of the information in their driving environment. Research shows that drivers using cell phones have slower reaction times than those impaired by alcohol. Using a smartphone for social networking – slows reaction time by 37.60%. Texting – slows reaction time by 37.40%. Alcohol – slows reaction time by 10-30%. Hands-free mobile phone conversation – slows reaction time by 26.50%
Listening to someone on the other end of a phone call reduces brain activity in areas responsible for driving by 37%. When holding a phone for conversation, reaction times slow by around 50%, compared to 26% slower with hands-free devices.

The risk of using a phone while driving can indeed be compared to drunk driving. Casual phone conversations are comparable to mild intoxication (1-2 beers). Texting or using social media is similar to moderate intoxication (3-4 beers). Watching short videos, such as TikToks or Reels, is equivalent to being heavily intoxicated (5+ beers), drastically reducing attention and increasing reaction times.

It’s crucial to remember this for your own safety and to be more cautious around drivers with phones in their hands—treat them as if they were drunk and adjust your driving accordingly.

A comparison of the cell phone driver and the drunk driver Hum Factors 2006 Summer;48(2):381-91.
A comparison of the effect of mobile phone use and alcohol consumption on driving simulation performance Traffic Inj Prev 2012;13(6):566-74.

The face is a mirror of the soul, as Cicero once said. In childhood, we were often warned when making faces, "If you kee...
26/09/2024

The face is a mirror of the soul, as Cicero once said. In childhood, we were often warned when making faces, "If you keep doing that, you'll get stuck like that!" Indeed, frequently expressing certain emotions creates conditions for forming static wrinkles where dynamic ones used to be. As a result, even a completely neutral face may carry a permanent emotional imprint. This same emotional trace can form as the face ages. After all, expressions of happiness are associated with the contraction of muscles that lift and expand, while sadness involves muscles that pull down (depressors). With age, the corners of our mouths droop, making it seem as though we are displeased.

This can affect how others perceive and evaluate us, often leading to misunderstandings. Moreover, facial expressions, much like slumped posture, can prime our thoughts in certain directions. For example, try to notice the difference in feelings when you hold a pencil horizontally between your teeth (similar to a smile) versus holding it by the tip (similar to tension).

In one study, scientists focused on expressions of contempt, anger, and dissatisfaction in some people at rest. This phenomenon has even been given the name "Resting Bitch Face" (RBF) in both men and women. Scientists use this term in their research as well. We may perceive others as expressing contempt or dissatisfaction, even if they feel neutral. According to some opinions, RBF is primarily a result of suppressed or even self-hidden emotions. If you feel fine or neutral but are asked, "Why are you angry?" or "Is something wrong? Did I say something you didn’t like?" or "Why aren't you smiling?" — you probably have RBF at that moment. You can check your photo (resting emotions) for Resting Bitch Face here: https://www.testrbf.com. Of course, in certain situations, RBF can serve as an excellent defense against unnecessary interactions, but if used too often, it may become imprinted on your face.

1. Learn to relax your face. Naturally, it's psychologically more pleasant to be in an environment where people have relaxed faces. It helps me relax as well. So, what can you do to avoid a permanent look of dissatisfaction on your face? Start by learning to relax your facial muscles and become aware of tension. Look at people with respect. A half-smile or slight smile is great. Raise your eyebrows when greeting someone. Pressing your tongue lightly against the roof of your mouth also helps relax facial muscles. Of course, cosmetic procedures and corrections can also be helpful.

2. Still face as emotional suppression. A frozen facial expression can be a form of adaptation to an unfavorable environment where spontaneous emotional reactions were condemned, and an expression of disgust towards a dictator’s statue could have cost people their lives. Additionally, in some Eastern cultures, an animated emotional reaction may be disapproved of as a loss of self-control.

However, a lively, animated face is one of the most underrated secrets of attractiveness. When you're able to show a genuine, engaged reaction, you become more understandable and attractive. There’s a simple way to check the "understandability" of your face—take selfies of yourself expressing different emotions and ask others to identify what you're expressing.

3. Smartphones and the frozen face. Prolonged use of smartphones by preschool children increases the risk of a "frozen face"—when no feedback occurs between the person and the phone, and emotional learning is impaired. It’s harmful to adults, too, when they look at their phone during conversations—this degrades the quality of communication and devalues it. A well-known experiment from 1978, the "Still-Face Experiment," shows how negatively a parent’s expressionless face can affect child development.

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