Ray Peat's voice

[Imonaquest]

I honestly can't even listen to one of his audio interviews. His voice sounds so shaky. You would think that he is either going to have a nervous breakdown or a stroke at any second.

Funny thing, I listened to a Gary Null interview with him back in 1998, I believe it was, and his voice was like that, even back 15 years ago.

I agree with those who said he sounds like he's in pain or being tortured. He also sounds like he's 117 years old.

I saw a video of him from 2010, I think it was, and he looked alert, energetic, had good skin. But his voice sounded nuts.

 

[tobieagle]

He also sounds like he's 117 years old.

Who knows.. maybe he kept his true age a secret ^^

I dont have any problems with his voice and kind of speaking. You get used to it very quickly imo.

 

[burtlancast]

Count me in with all those finding his voice weird.

It's like hearing Noam Chomsky ( except Ray is making sense).

But he might be the best looking 73 year old i ever saw.


To talk more seriously, the reason he speaks like that is because Ray has been at the limit of hypothyroidism all his young adult life; hypothyroid people are notorious for not easily finding the words to correctly express their ideas.

So i believe Ray does have a mind that races a thousands miles/ hour but he struggles translating smoothly these ideas into words.

He has corrected his thyroid problem, but it seems his early handicap has somehow stayed with him.

 

[jyb]

@burtlancast: I thought it was the opposite, the shaky voice was a sign of hyperthyroidism. But what you say about a racing mind and speech problems when hypothyroid also makes sense.

 

[burtlancast]

I didn't look at hyper because Ray mentioned he was borderline hypothyroid in his teens and that caused his migraines.

When you look at the symptoms of hypothyroidism, it says

- Rapid thoughts
- Slow speech and a hoarse, breaking voice – deepening of the voice can also be noticed, caused by Reinke's Edema

 

[Jenn]

He just sounds like someone from the West Coast to me.....

 

[himsahimsa]

If you will listen to Diane Rehm on NPR you will hear the same pattern. She has explained her own voice as being effected by Spasmodic Dysphonia.

It is especially disturbing in Peat's case because it really does sound like the symptom of a neurological disorder (like Parkinson's for instance, which can be induced) and so it is reasonable to wonder weather his nerves have been damaged by his own unusual dietary practices, with which most people on this forum are experimenting and so potentially exposing themselves (ourselves) to a similar risk.

But it may be genetic. He could say something about it that might dispel (or confirm) valid concerns, no? If it turns out he's wrong about just one thing and that thing nails a chunk of brain cells, that would be bad.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spasmodic_dysphonia

 

[j.]

It is especially disturbing in Peat's case because it really does sound like the symptom of a neurological disorder (like Parkinson's for instance, which can be induced) and so it is reasonable to wonder weather his nerves have been damaged by his own unusual dietary practices, with which most people on this forum are experimenting and so potentially exposing themselves (ourselves) to a similar risk.

If he damaged himself with drugs or nutrition, I think it's more likely the damage was from stuff he doesn't recommend, maybe something he experimented with when he was younger and not as wise. He is smart enough to figure out what caused it, and not recommend it, assuming it isn't something he was born with.

 

[4peatssake]

it is reasonable to wonder weather his nerves have been damaged by his own unusual dietary practices, with which most people on this forum are experimenting and so potentially exposing themselves (ourselves) to a similar risk.

We are already at great risk due to the colossal failure, lies and blunders of both the scientific and medical establishments and their mechanistic, authoritarian approach to life.

Everyone is experimenting whether they are aware of it or not.

 

[charlie]

If it turns out he's wrong about just one thing and that thing nails a chunk of brain cells, that would be bad.

No man is perfect and has to be wrong somewhere.

With that being said. I do not see any other "lifestyle" that is moving people towards health like the "Ray Peat lifestyle" does. I would expect there has to be tweaks that can be made to even this "lifestyle" to make it better. So I am always keeping my eye open for them.

 

[Mittir]

No man is perfect and has to be wrong somewhere.

That sounds like a philosophical statement. RP is not a fortune teller
and he is not conducting any new experiment to find something new.
He is simply analysing existing scientific evidence. If people really learned
their science and attentive ,they do not have to make mistake in picking
the right studies and right conclusions. Almost all his recommendations are
about common sense nutrition, nothing new. If someone thinks PUFA is healthy
they do not have to avoid PUFA. RP is not forcing any diet on anyone.
There is no Atkins like "Ray Peat Diet". People pick and chose
whatever they think is right . I did not do sugar for a year,
cause i was not convinced until i read some of the studies he cited.

 

[himsahimsa]

I'm not knocking Peat, and I have read everything I could find by him and listened to the interviews and I think he makes great sense and is obviously smart and honest and a clear and an open minded thinker, expert in his field and so on. Great information from an undaunted guy. But hearing him speak gives an unsettling impression. Probably more bothersome to those of us old enough to have more and more friends showing characteristic signs of neurodegenerative diseases. So I pointed to a known and heritable condition that produces a speech pattern like his. I am not the first to mention it as witness the age of the thread.

 

[freal]

Oh, he is 75, I havent seen his latest picture but in that CO2 interveiw he looked to me somewhere around 60 or even younger. That would explain why he is so so sensitive to additives and things like that.

 

[j.]

77

 

[Mittir]

Oh, he is 75, I havent seen his latest picture but in that CO2 interveiw he looked to me somewhere around 60 or even younger. That would explain why he is so so sensitive to additives and things like that.

I do not remember the name of the interview, but i heard him say that he had health
issues from birth. His mother was hypothyroid ( or he speculated that she probably
was hypothyroid) when he was born. Stomach issues were there from infancy.
He continually had health issues through out his life and he figure out lot of things
on his own long before he went to study biology. He was also the kind of person
who preferred reading a medical book instead of a novel when he was younger.
(He did not mention at what age). He also took a lot of science courses
when was doing his undergrad. He has a very unusual kind of background.
His story reminds me of mythological figure Chiron, the wounded healer.

 

[j.]

Migraines also when he was young I think.

 

[narouz]

My guess is that Peat's voice characteristics are not pathological.

His voice is, perhaps, a little unexpected
from someone perceived as a "health expert" or something,
in that it is a little hesitating and not conventionally "assertive."
I've always thought he sounded like some iconic kindly grandfather character in films
that I can't quite remember.

I think the "not conventionally assertive" thing is key--
this is my take.
Read through the recent reply Peat made online about "Contraries"
(can't recall the name of the woman whose site it is on--
she wrote a Peat-oriented book
and I think Peat's response to her was noted here.)
You will clearly see Peat's suspicion toward
many conventionally assertive ways-of-being-in-the-world.
He sees them as being hardened, inflexible, dogmatic, deadening.
And, apart from that specific response,
it is well-known how Peat likes to dis "dogma".

My point, in regard to Peat's voice, is this:
I think Peat's voice embodies non-aggression, flexibility, acceptance, openness, etc.
And those qualities are perceived by many,
because of our cultural indoctrination,
as diseased, unconfident, wussified, weak, etc.
Many hanker for the Limbaugh-style orator,
firmly declaiming "The Truth" at all turns
and "strongly" and "manfully" excoriating "evil".

Personally, I've always liked the quality of Peat's voice--
aesthetically and content-wise.
I've said before that one could almost transcribe verbatim
Peat's words in interviews,
and they would require very little editing:
to me, his thought as expressed through his voice
is the epitome of coherence.

Add to that view this one:
Peat sometimes mentions that
he thinks our verbal/reading mentality,
through the forces of modern life,
can exercise an unhealthy tyranny over our other creative mentalities.
And so he says he makes it a habit to spend long periods of time
not reading or writing--instead painting or sculpting or walking.
In general, I picture him a pretty private person
who enjoys a lot of solitude.
Those factors could, I think,
contribute to his voice.

Finally, and again just my guesstimation,
I think the world has beat up on Peat quite a bit.
Consider his experiences down in Mexico years ago
involving his Blake College,
with the CIA/FBI spying on him and likely destroying the school.
I think he has felt that boot of oppression on his neck
and that changed him.
Also the way his scholarship has been unfairly disregarded.
I think he picks his battles carefully now
and doesn't want to live a life defined by fighting and conflict.
I think that way-of-being-in-the-world might turn up in his voice.

 

[Mittir]

IIRC RP mentioned that he started having migraine and eye problems
while he was in school and he noticed how most migrainers in his
class were female wearing glasses.
Migraine usually starts around puberty for girls. He was a problem sleeper.
He once got terribly sick as a child when doctor performed X rays on him.
He also had cancer like lesion in his mouth. He did not mention the age.
He also had cancerous moles.

 

[Mittir]

My point, in regard to Peat's voice, is this:
I think Peat's voice embodies non-aggression, flexibility, acceptance, openness, etc.
And those qualities are perceived by many,
because of our cultural indoctrination,
as diseased, unconfident, wussified, weak, etc.
Many hanker for the Limbaugh-style orator,
firmly declaiming "The Truth" at all turns
and "strongly" and "manfully" excoriating "evil".

Personally, I've always liked the quality of Peat's voice--
aesthetically and content-wise.

I find RP's voice very soothing ,and on regular basis i play his audio
interviews while i am working or relaxing. I have known several people
who has this kind weak and shaky voice and most of
them are genius type, scientists or artists.
RP is both scientist and artist.
I find it odd that some people never heard this kind of voice before.
One guy i knew sounded exactly like Ray Peat.He is
a very successful scientist in his field and everyone around him
considers him a genius.He is in his 60's and one of the
nicest person i have ever known. He drinks coffee all the time
and wears thick glasses. Unassuming, child like always
happy and helpful. He even looks lot like RP.

 

[charlie]

Maybe its what a healthy voice should be?