Dr. Peter Attia On The Joe Rogan Experience #1108
How many hats can a guy wear?
“In life, velocity means very little, acceleration is everything.” - Dr. Peter Attia explaining his drive towards challenge and discomfort.
The Engine
Ever since I was a little kid, I remember teachers and adults repeating the phrase, “We are all special in our own way.” In many aspects, they were telling the truth, as no two people, not even identical twins, are exactly the same; yet, I always felt inclined to call bull shit on the connotation that everybody is special. We are all different, yes, but in my mind, only a select few individuals truly stand out as special. David Goggins refers to these people as being, “uncommon amongst the uncommon,” in that they are impressive and exceptional even in the company of the most extraordinary individuals in the world. I refer to them as outliers. So, what does it take to be a true outlier? In my experience, people of this kind differ in the unique perspectives, backgrounds, and philosophies that they bring to their fields of interest; however, I find that they often relate through one quality: obsession. For some of these outliers, such as basketball legend Michael Jordan, this obsession arises from an innate inclination towards competition; whereas, for others, such as Apple founder Steve Jobs, it comes from a proclivity for perfection. In the case of Dr. Peter Attia, I argue that it is a combination of competitive drive, craving for perfection, relentless self-judgment, and passion for progress that fuel the obsessive qualities that earn him a spot alongside these aforementioned outliers. Attia’s résumé speaks for itself, consisting of 15+ mile ultra-endurance swimming feats, a medical degree from Stanford School of Medicine, and an iconic reputation in the longevity community, but it is his exceptional ability to dissect complex topics — including but not limited to lipidology, athletic performance, and metabolic syndrome — and rare capacity for discomfort that set him apart from your average successful Joe.
“Virtually every fat person that I know or that I’ve taken care of, they are not eating disproportionately more than their peers...On balance, the problem is that they simply do everything incorrectly metabolically.” - Attia challenging the common beliefs around weight gain and metabolic health.
The Wheel
During his over 3-hour conversation with Rogan, Attia exemplifies these extraordinary traits while discussing his background in ultra-endurance swimming, philosophes on chronic illness, and approach to improving and extending human longevity; additionally, Rogan takes Attia off on multiple playful tangents, discussing animals at the zoo, favorite cheat-meals, and the pair’s shared interest in archery. If you are looking for a Forrest Gump-like individual who seems to lead 5 different and incredible lives all at once and excels at everything he touches, then this episode is for you.
“What do you think a 70-year old dude is supposed to look like!?!?” - Joe Rogan on being fit and healthy late in life.
The Breaks
In the past couple of centuries, human longevity has made leaps and bounds via ground-breaking medical innovations and developments, such as anesthetics, antiseptics, and antibiotics; however, despite continued human innovation and scientific expansion, our progress on lifespan has been stifled in recent decades. With modern medicine rapidly evolving through up and coming fields, such as genetics, gut health, and neuroscience, it is possible that we already possess the information necessary to make the next step-wise jump in longevity but that our ability to process and analyze said information is inhibiting such a jump. Peter Attia stands out in this regard, in that his past lives spent in credit-risk modeling, engineering and mathematics, biology, and elite athletics equip him with the attributes and competencies necessary to assess and scrutinize intricate data, reverse-engineer human health’s first principles, and chase performance optimization. Through his deep dives on pivotal, yet widely misunderstood, medical topics, such as insulin resistance, and detailed articles on implicit bias and interpreting research data, Dr. Attia has served as my most valued resource for information on health, longevity, and physiology. In addition to this episode of the JRE, I recommend Attia’s podcast, website, and appearances on other podcasts, like The Tim Ferriss Show, for anybody interested in health, sports, and medicine.
“We haven’t had a step-function improvement in mortality in nearly 100 years, so what’s next?” - Attia discussing the current state of human longevity.