Questions and Answers
(June 2010)
A: Curious type. I hold PhD in Applied Probability, MSc in Maths and Education and BEd in Mathematics and Computing. My research interests are in the area of stochastic modeling, particularly in creating models for the analysis of real-life systems with an element of uncertainty. Such systems include all systems of engineering and environmental significance. For example, I work on models suitable for such diverse situation as hydro power generation systems, human metabolism or the life of corals. I publish my work in international scientific journals. I also lecture in Probability Models and Operations Research. My other proud achievements include winning a school maths competition at the age of 14 (as one of the youngest participants), reading scientific articles at the age of 9 and analyzing the life of ants at the age of 3.
Q: Do you take sides in forum discussions?
A: If I like something someone says, that does not mean that I agree with everything they say all the time and will take their side in any debate. If something does not make sense to me, I am not going to defend it by all means. Taking sides is a hinderence to progress in my view, and progress is what I am interested in. I like to challenge stereotypes.
Q: When will you start to eat more fruit and join the party?
A: My diet is based on fruit since 2004, see my November 2004 journal entry as an example. I went raw in 2003 and spontaneously progressed to fruit-based diet. According to my calculation based on my analysis in June 2010, fruit are more than 99% of my caloric intake. For example, on June 16, apart from fruit (1973kcal), I ate 3 lettuce leaves (14kcal), making it 1973/(1973+14)*100% = 99.3% of calories coming from fruit. See my June 2010 journal entry for the details. In 5 out of 13 days of me recording my intake since 6 June I had some greens, the remaining 8 days were fruit only. So, I am happy for it not to be any more, even if this means not being invited to some party. Have a look at my own fruit party in my office:
Q: What is your caloric intake?
A: According to my June 2010 calculations, it is around 2000kcal on average. This number is an estimate and could be a subject to fluctuations naturally. This is where I feel comfortable. Closer to 1000kcal and I feel starving, closer to 3000kcal and I am over-eating. I performed some experiments to confirm this, of course. Note that my data in June 2010 is: age - 46 years, weight - 48kg, height - 162cm (this one probably won't change). I am quite small build, my wrist's perimeter is approximately 14.5 cm, and my shoe size is 36.5 (Aussie style). I could be classified as pettite. Finally, note that in my first year of raw, I ate high fat and more than now. This is partly due to me being used to eating condensed cooked foods before and partly due to my body rebuilding itself. As my diet changed to mostly mono eating on fruit, so did my other patterns of eating.
Q: What is your level of activity?
A: I classify this as low-active due to my sedentary job. Some cooked foodists may not agree with this assessment, as I also swim 1km or go the gym around 3-4 times a week, and do belly dancing (several hours per week), besides other day to day activities. This is despite me having a painful disc injury in 2007, which took 2 years to recover from (to the tolerable level). When I saw a specialist doctor, he nearly fell off his chair when I asked him to recommed me some safe exercises so that I could increase my level of activity, and said that most of people do not do half of what I do, including him. A friend of mine says raw food standards and abilities are different than those of cooked foodists and I agree. He also says that if I can swim 1km, then I am athletic. So I am. I keep challenging myself, of course, and continue to increase my targets yay!
Q: What is the percentage of raw in your diet?
A: The % of raw in my diet according to my estimate as from around year 2008 till 2010 is close to 100%. Around 2007, the year of my disc injury, the % of raw in my diet could have dropped to 90% for some time due to my inability to cope with the long-term pain (I was unable to walk or stand for more than a few minutes without pain, for many months), feeling depressed and numbing this pain with the junk. It was close to 100% before that. I removed the stove from the house and placed it in a shed years ago because I stopped using it. In 2010, I performed a number of deliberate experiments with cooked, and I write a little bit about these in my April 2010 journal entry. These reinforced my different conclusions about cooked and also my commitment to raw. Every working day, in the morning I pack a bag of fruit and this is what I eat it all day. In the evening I opt for fruit or occasional greens in some form. I classify my dietary desires under "fruit lover". I salivate at the sight of fruit.
Q: Do you think that the calorie model can help?
A: The calorie model is not necessary at all but can help newbies and beginners in a short term (weeks), if it is used in a wise and informed manner. In cron-o-meter for example, all minimum target levels are approximations and can be very inaccurate, this includes protein and other nutrients (see vitC as a stark example), of course calories too (the magniture of error is completely unacceptable, as has been reported in the scientific literature). Following the calculators blindly is not something I would recommend. So assuming the informed usage, I think that calculators can be a good tool for beginners, primarily though for recording the intake, and not for comparing with the inappropriate markers which are based on cooked foodists anyway. Beyond the beginners stage though, I do not think so. Note that we, humans, are not born with calculators attached to our bodies. This tells me something about their necessity. Usefulness? Maybe. Necessity? No. My hard-core mathematical mind says so.