SLIME MOLD TIME MOLD
@slimemoldtimemold.bsky.social
"If one does not expect it, one will not find out the unexpected;
It is not to be tracked down and no path leads us to it."
slimemoldtimemold.com
patreon.com/slimemoldtimemold
It is not to be tracked down and no path leads us to it."
slimemoldtimemold.com
patreon.com/slimemoldtimemold
AS USUAL, tons more information in the full blog post.
Thank you for reading! :)
slimemoldtimemold.com/2025/02/02/p...
Thank you for reading! :)
slimemoldtimemold.com/2025/02/02/p...
Potato Riffs Retrospective
Background Just over a year ago we launched the Potato Diet Riff Trial, the first of its kind. The riff trial is a new type of study design. In most studies, all participants sign up for the same p…
slimemoldtimemold.com
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
AS USUAL, tons more information in the full blog post.
Thank you for reading! :)
slimemoldtimemold.com/2025/02/02/p...
Thank you for reading! :)
slimemoldtimemold.com/2025/02/02/p...
The fact that we planted our flag and ran this as a riff trial didn’t change the nature of this exploration. But making it one study, clearly marking out its existence, definitely sped things up, and helps make the results easier to compare and interpret.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
The fact that we planted our flag and ran this as a riff trial didn’t change the nature of this exploration. But making it one study, clearly marking out its existence, definitely sped things up, and helps make the results easier to compare and interpret.
#3: Riff Trials Harness Cultural Evolution
Even if we hadn’t run the riff trial, people would have experimented with potato diets for the next 10 or 20 years, trying new variations and learning new things about the diet-space. But this process would have been slow and chaotic.
Even if we hadn’t run the riff trial, people would have experimented with potato diets for the next 10 or 20 years, trying new variations and learning new things about the diet-space. But this process would have been slow and chaotic.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
#3: Riff Trials Harness Cultural Evolution
Even if we hadn’t run the riff trial, people would have experimented with potato diets for the next 10 or 20 years, trying new variations and learning new things about the diet-space. But this process would have been slow and chaotic.
Even if we hadn’t run the riff trial, people would have experimented with potato diets for the next 10 or 20 years, trying new variations and learning new things about the diet-space. But this process would have been slow and chaotic.
#2: You May Have to Encourage Diversity
That said, there was not much diversity in the riffs.
Most people signed up for some version of Potatoes + Dairy. In the future, organizers should think about what they can do to encourage people to sign up for different riffs.
That said, there was not much diversity in the riffs.
Most people signed up for some version of Potatoes + Dairy. In the future, organizers should think about what they can do to encourage people to sign up for different riffs.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
#2: You May Have to Encourage Diversity
That said, there was not much diversity in the riffs.
Most people signed up for some version of Potatoes + Dairy. In the future, organizers should think about what they can do to encourage people to sign up for different riffs.
That said, there was not much diversity in the riffs.
Most people signed up for some version of Potatoes + Dairy. In the future, organizers should think about what they can do to encourage people to sign up for different riffs.
#1: It Works
We hoped that riff trials would use the power of parallel search to quickly explore the boundary conditions of the base protocol, and discover what might make it work better or worse. Good news! This works.
We hoped that riff trials would use the power of parallel search to quickly explore the boundary conditions of the base protocol, and discover what might make it work better or worse. Good news! This works.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
#1: It Works
We hoped that riff trials would use the power of parallel search to quickly explore the boundary conditions of the base protocol, and discover what might make it work better or worse. Good news! This works.
We hoped that riff trials would use the power of parallel search to quickly explore the boundary conditions of the base protocol, and discover what might make it work better or worse. Good news! This works.
This is the first-ever riff trial. But it won’t be the last. So for the next time someone does one of these, here’s what we’ve learned about how to do them right.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
This is the first-ever riff trial. But it won’t be the last. So for the next time someone does one of these, here’s what we’ve learned about how to do them right.
The strongest evidence is against eggs, because participant 41470698 / 80826704 did a kind of self-experiment.
First he did a Potatoes + Eggs riff and lost only 1.8 lbs. Then he did a standard potato diet and lost 13.2 lbs. That’s a pretty stark comparison.
First he did a Potatoes + Eggs riff and lost only 1.8 lbs. Then he did a standard potato diet and lost 13.2 lbs. That’s a pretty stark comparison.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
The strongest evidence is against eggs, because participant 41470698 / 80826704 did a kind of self-experiment.
First he did a Potatoes + Eggs riff and lost only 1.8 lbs. Then he did a standard potato diet and lost 13.2 lbs. That’s a pretty stark comparison.
First he did a Potatoes + Eggs riff and lost only 1.8 lbs. Then he did a standard potato diet and lost 13.2 lbs. That’s a pretty stark comparison.
There’s some evidence that meat, oil, vegetables, and especially eggs make the potato diet less effective. But with such a small sample, it’s hard to know for sure.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
There’s some evidence that meat, oil, vegetables, and especially eggs make the potato diet less effective. But with such a small sample, it’s hard to know for sure.
The main thing we learned is that Potatoes + Dairy works almost as well as the normal potato diet.
Looking at the 10 cases that did just potatoes and dairy, the average weight lost on these riffs was 9.2 lbs, pretty comparable to the 10.6 lbs lost on the standard potato diet.
Looking at the 10 cases that did just potatoes and dairy, the average weight lost on these riffs was 9.2 lbs, pretty comparable to the 10.6 lbs lost on the standard potato diet.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
The main thing we learned is that Potatoes + Dairy works almost as well as the normal potato diet.
Looking at the 10 cases that did just potatoes and dairy, the average weight lost on these riffs was 9.2 lbs, pretty comparable to the 10.6 lbs lost on the standard potato diet.
Looking at the 10 cases that did just potatoes and dairy, the average weight lost on these riffs was 9.2 lbs, pretty comparable to the 10.6 lbs lost on the standard potato diet.
The potato diet continues to be really robust. You can eat potatoes and ketchup, protein powder, or even skittles, and still lose more than 10 lbs in four weeks.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
The potato diet continues to be really robust. You can eat potatoes and ketchup, protein powder, or even skittles, and still lose more than 10 lbs in four weeks.
Mean weight change was 6.4 lbs lost, with the most gained being 5.2 lbs and the most lost being two people who both lost 19.8 lbs.
One person gained weight, one person saw no change, one person reported no data, one person didn't do potatoes, and the rest lost weight.
One person gained weight, one person saw no change, one person reported no data, one person didn't do potatoes, and the rest lost weight.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Mean weight change was 6.4 lbs lost, with the most gained being 5.2 lbs and the most lost being two people who both lost 19.8 lbs.
One person gained weight, one person saw no change, one person reported no data, one person didn't do potatoes, and the rest lost weight.
One person gained weight, one person saw no change, one person reported no data, one person didn't do potatoes, and the rest lost weight.
With these two last-minute entrants, the final count comes to a total of 40 riffs.
Note that this is not the same as 40 participants, since some people reported multiple riffs, and a few riffs were pairs of participants.
Here they are:
Note that this is not the same as 40 participants, since some people reported multiple riffs, and a few riffs were pairs of participants.
Here they are:
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
With these two last-minute entrants, the final count comes to a total of 40 riffs.
Note that this is not the same as 40 participants, since some people reported multiple riffs, and a few riffs were pairs of participants.
Here they are:
Note that this is not the same as 40 participants, since some people reported multiple riffs, and a few riffs were pairs of participants.
Here they are:
Participant 80826704, who had previously done Potatoes + Eggs as participant 41470698 and lost almost no weight, this time did a standard potato diet and lost more than 13 lbs:
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Participant 80826704, who had previously done Potatoes + Eggs as participant 41470698 and lost almost no weight, this time did a standard potato diet and lost more than 13 lbs:
Since the last report, we’ve heard back from an additional two riffs.
Participant 87259648 did a Fried Potatoes riff and lost a little weight:
Participant 87259648 did a Fried Potatoes riff and lost a little weight:
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Since the last report, we’ve heard back from an additional two riffs.
Participant 87259648 did a Fried Potatoes riff and lost a little weight:
Participant 87259648 did a Fried Potatoes riff and lost a little weight:
Between March 18th and October 9th, 2024, we heard back from an additional eleven riffs.
We saw continued support for Potatoes + Dairy, and there were more skittles.
slimemoldtimemold.com/2024/10/09/t...
We saw continued support for Potatoes + Dairy, and there were more skittles.
slimemoldtimemold.com/2024/10/09/t...
Third Potato Riffs Report
For many people, eating a diet of nothing but potatoes (or almost nothing but potatoes) causes quick, effortless weight loss. It’s not a matter of white-knuckling through a boring diet — people eat…
slimemoldtimemold.com
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Between March 18th and October 9th, 2024, we heard back from an additional eleven riffs.
We saw continued support for Potatoes + Dairy, and there were more skittles.
slimemoldtimemold.com/2024/10/09/t...
We saw continued support for Potatoes + Dairy, and there were more skittles.
slimemoldtimemold.com/2024/10/09/t...
Between January 5th and March 18th, 2024, we heard back from an additional seventeen riffs.
Potatoes + Dairy continued to work just fine. Also, the Potatoes + Skittles riff was an enormous success.
Potatoes + Dairy continued to work just fine. Also, the Potatoes + Skittles riff was an enormous success.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Between January 5th and March 18th, 2024, we heard back from an additional seventeen riffs.
Potatoes + Dairy continued to work just fine. Also, the Potatoes + Skittles riff was an enormous success.
Potatoes + Dairy continued to work just fine. Also, the Potatoes + Skittles riff was an enormous success.
In the first two months after launching the riff trial, we heard back from ten riffs.
Generally speaking, we learned that Potatoes + Dairy seems to work just fine, at least for some people:
slimemoldtimemold.com/2024/01/05/f...
Generally speaking, we learned that Potatoes + Dairy seems to work just fine, at least for some people:
slimemoldtimemold.com/2024/01/05/f...
First Potato Riffs Report
Eating a diet of nothing but potatoes (or almost nothing but potatoes) causes quick, effortless weight loss for many people. It’s not a matter of white-knuckling through a boring diet — people eat …
slimemoldtimemold.com
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
In the first two months after launching the riff trial, we heard back from ten riffs.
Generally speaking, we learned that Potatoes + Dairy seems to work just fine, at least for some people:
slimemoldtimemold.com/2024/01/05/f...
Generally speaking, we learned that Potatoes + Dairy seems to work just fine, at least for some people:
slimemoldtimemold.com/2024/01/05/f...
Why the hell does this happen? Well, there are many theories. The hope was that running a riff trial would help get a sense of which theories are plausible, find some boundary conditions, figure out what slows or stops the effect, or just more randomly explore the diet-space.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Why the hell does this happen? Well, there are many theories. The hope was that running a riff trial would help get a sense of which theories are plausible, find some boundary conditions, figure out what slows or stops the effect, or just more randomly explore the diet-space.
As the first test of this new design, we decided to riff on one of our previous studies: the potato diet. For many people, eating a diet of ~nothing but potatoes causes quick, effortless weight loss, 10.6 lbs on average.
slimemoldtimemold.com/2022/07/12/l...
slimemoldtimemold.com/2022/07/12/l...
LOSE 10.6 POUNDS in FOUR WEEKS with this ONE WEIRD TRICK Discovered by Local Slime Hive Mind! Doctors GRUDGINGLY RESPECT Them, Hope to Become Friends
The first time we mentioned the potato diet, in Part III of our series A Chemical Hunger, we shared the story of Chris Voigt, the Executive Director of the Washington State Potatoes Commission, who…
slimemoldtimemold.com
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
As the first test of this new design, we decided to riff on one of our previous studies: the potato diet. For many people, eating a diet of ~nothing but potatoes causes quick, effortless weight loss, 10.6 lbs on average.
slimemoldtimemold.com/2022/07/12/l...
slimemoldtimemold.com/2022/07/12/l...
The riff trial is a new type of study design. In most studies, all participants sign up for the same protocol, or for a small number of similar conditions. But in a riff trial, everyone tests a different version of the original protocol, and you see what happens.
February 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
The riff trial is a new type of study design. In most studies, all participants sign up for the same protocol, or for a small number of similar conditions. But in a riff trial, everyone tests a different version of the original protocol, and you see what happens.