if this theory was true—and by manipulating blood glucose levels you could achieve far greater willpower whenever you wanted, what would you do?
I would wait for someone to provide cheap and easy implementation methods (a wristwatch that doubles as a body-monitor and expert system?), so I wouldn’t have to do all kinds of primary research using very poor methods like self-experimentation, and wouldn’t have to spend money on imprecise testing kits.
There is a cheap and easy way to stabilize blood sugar called ketosis. Anecdotally, suffice it to say that until I saw this article, I’d practically forgotten that I ever had an interest in akrasia.
So one could do this, absolutely. I don’t think one needs an ‘expert system’ - presumably there’s some level you don’t want the level to fall below, and once you figure out the level...
The device didn’t work very well, caused burns, and is (I believe) no longer being manufactured. Also, the level of accuracy that is useful to diabetics (who are concerned that their blood glucose may be at 200 or at 50 mg/dl) is not going to suffice for someone who is trying to stay within the optimal part of the normal range, which is probably a range of like 85-110 mg/dl. And by all accounts it wasn’t even that good. Bummer, really.
I would wait for someone to provide cheap and easy implementation methods (a wristwatch that doubles as a body-monitor and expert system?), so I wouldn’t have to do all kinds of primary research using very poor methods like self-experimentation, and wouldn’t have to spend money on imprecise testing kits.
There is a cheap and easy way to stabilize blood sugar called ketosis. Anecdotally, suffice it to say that until I saw this article, I’d practically forgotten that I ever had an interest in akrasia.
Googling, there seems to have been a glucose monitor wristwatch since 2005 (and mentions back to 2001), eg. http://www.engadget.com/2005/06/13/glucoband-wristwatch-continuously-monitors-your-glucose-levels/
So one could do this, absolutely. I don’t think one needs an ‘expert system’ - presumably there’s some level you don’t want the level to fall below, and once you figure out the level...
The device didn’t work very well, caused burns, and is (I believe) no longer being manufactured. Also, the level of accuracy that is useful to diabetics (who are concerned that their blood glucose may be at 200 or at 50 mg/dl) is not going to suffice for someone who is trying to stay within the optimal part of the normal range, which is probably a range of like 85-110 mg/dl. And by all accounts it wasn’t even that good. Bummer, really.