I'm not sure I agree with your assessment. I'll eat white rice, but will avoid other grains (for example). How do I "know" to do this? Because others with more background/expertise have put in the effort to analyze and determine that white rice is probably safer on digestion than many other grains. I'm thankful they've done that. Is it 100% fool proof? No. Is it a bit of a leap of faith on my part? Yes. Has it worked out well for me so far? Definitely.

Some people seem to enjoy arguing about details. That's about it in my opinion. Personally, I pay no attention to most of them, even though I'm extremely strict in my food choices. You'll never catch me counting percentages of anything.

There are two (at least) types who overanalyze paleo: the first who need to look at every detail because they're pretty sick, deranged and suffering from all sorts of dysfunction. The second who let paleo overwhelm their lives. The former will figure it all out eventually and not stress over paleo much. The latter will obsess from now until the day when they go on a Poptart eating binge never to return to paleo land again.

I agree with you 100%, but you're ALWAYS going to have those "sciencey/mathematically inclined" individuals. Which is fine and dandy. Whatever works for each individual. Me? No thanks. Too excited to live life passionately to worry about specifics. As long as I have the whole, well rounded knowledge of paleo, I'm good.

One of the LARGEST reasons I avoid forums, discussions, debates, etc is because there is no one size fits all solution for everyone. We're all biologically unique in some way. Some of us respond to dairy, others don't. Some of us need a higher carb percentage due to being a 6 day athlete (myself) others do not. Some feel better being VLC, I feel awful.

I'll never count calories. I'll never measure macronutrient portions. I'll never care to make sure to only eat protein+fat or protein+carb. I'll continue to eat 1-2 word (non-ingredients) foods, mix it as I please, and not feel bad if I put a dalop of fat on my sweet potato. So long as you have your eating style dialed in, you'll be fine.

Yeah i often wonder about the finer details too. Caveman wouldnt have been nearly as fussy or dialled in to themselves. Im sure that just ate anything and everythingbedible...and even if it wasnt consumable im sure they wouldve tried it anyway...just in case

I occasionally get frustrated with these boards for tearing apart every last molecule of anything you plan on sticking in your mouth, but I realize that it's important stuff that someone has to figure out. I'm far from a paleo saint, but I appreciate the people who are, and those who've devoted their time to figuring out the details. I don't need every single one of them, but I've learned some important things here.

Basically you have to know enough to be able to reasonably evaluate the claims of people who want to give you advice. Or you have to know enough to be able judge whether such people are trustworthy or not.

But some of us just enjoy learning about the science. I was never interested in the biological sciences before, but now I find them fascinating. It's fun and useful because you an apply what you learn to your own body.

I can understand your point of view though. You can do what you like. I'm sure you follow your own best judgement. That's all that any of us can do.

To each his/her own...your path is the one you have to live with and travel on. Period. no use getting undies in a bunch if their path is different.