I don’t remember “advocating” biphasic sleep. I link to people I know who were able to adjust to it and I describe my personal experience. In fact, in the essay’s conclusion I write:
If you take one thing away from this entire essay, remember this: as long as you feel good, sleeping anywhere between 5 and 8 hours a night seems basically fine for your health
You add quote marks as if you’re quoting my essay. I never wrote that this paper doesn’t support ‘smaller testes size for men who sleep less’. I wrote: “It does not support either of Walker’s claims” Here are Walker’s claims:
Men who sleep 5 hours a night have significantly smaller testicles than those who sleep 8 hours or more. [from his 2017 talk at Google)
And:
Men who sleep 5 hours a night have significantly smaller testicles than those who sleep 7 hours or more. [from his 2019 TED Talk]
The paper in question finds a correlation between sleep and testicle size. Walker says that the difference between those sleeping 5 and those sleeping 8 hours or more (or 7 hours or more) is “significant”, by which he clearly means statistical significance. The paper never examines whether the difference between those two groups is statistically significant. It is true that it found a significant correlation. The paper however does not support either of Walker’s claims.
Anticipating comments that say that I’m nitpicking: the testicles thing is indeed nitpicking and it’s not important. I included it in one of the last appendices of the essay, mostly out of curiosity at the fact that Walker repeats the exact same phrases word for word in different talks but his numbers change in the process.
Finally, (even though I believe their reading of my essay is wrong), I’m glad that both of the OP’s concerns regard things he found in appendices to the essay and not in any of the main parts it.
I’m the author of this essay. I don’t believe your characterization of it is accurate.
1. You write:
I don’t remember “advocating” biphasic sleep. I link to people I know who were able to adjust to it and I describe my personal experience. In fact, in the essay’s conclusion I write:
which contradicts your assertion.
2. You write:
You add quote marks as if you’re quoting my essay. I never wrote that this paper doesn’t support ‘smaller testes size for men who sleep less’. I wrote: “It does not support either of Walker’s claims” Here are Walker’s claims:
And:
The paper in question finds a correlation between sleep and testicle size. Walker says that the difference between those sleeping 5 and those sleeping 8 hours or more (or 7 hours or more) is “significant”, by which he clearly means statistical significance. The paper never examines whether the difference between those two groups is statistically significant. It is true that it found a significant correlation. The paper however does not support either of Walker’s claims.
Anticipating comments that say that I’m nitpicking: the testicles thing is indeed nitpicking and it’s not important. I included it in one of the last appendices of the essay, mostly out of curiosity at the fact that Walker repeats the exact same phrases word for word in different talks but his numbers change in the process.
Finally, (even though I believe their reading of my essay is wrong), I’m glad that both of the OP’s concerns regard things he found in appendices to the essay and not in any of the main parts it.